Always In My Heart
by naley23lover101
Summary: Nathan and Haley are best friends. Haley is also in love with Nathan, but he doesn't know. What happens when he and Haley's stepsister Rachel begin to date? How will Haley react? And what will happen when Nathan finds out the truth? Rated T for future.
1. Chapter 1

I'm sitting here on my bed, staring at a picture of the best person in the world, my best friend, Nathan. _Nathan Scott._ The Big Man On Campus. Starting Point Guard for the Tree Hill Ravens. Son of Tree Hill's Mayor, Dan Scott. But none of that matters much. He's my best friend. My shining star. My family.

He also happens to be the only boy I've ever been in love with.

We've been best friends since, well since practically birth. Our parents go way back. His birthday is only a few months before mine, so after I was born, our families would get together for Sunday night dinners and the occasional summer vacations. Growing up, our parents always had the idea that we'd eventually fall in love, get married, have kids, and spend the rest of our blissful lives together. This was always just a hopeless fantasy, we had assured them time and time again, that we'd never be anything other than best friends. Somewhere along the way however, something changed. Maybe it's because of puberty, all those pent-up hormones finally got the best of me. Or maybe its how he's the only person I know that will stand by me no matter what happens. Or how he's the only one that _truly_ gets me. Maybe it's the way his eyes read not only my facial expression, but also my whole entire soul, or how one simple smile can make my day _that_ much better. I'm not sure how it happened, but somewhere along the way, I fell in love with my best friend.

Mommy and Daddy would be so proud.

Really they would. It's been their dream. I'm pretty sure when I was thirteen, I walked in on them while they were whispering with Dan and Deb, Nathan's rents, about how cute his blue eyes and my honey-colored hair would look on a tiny baby. Talk about pre-determined fate. They never pressured us to be together though; they knew we were best friends, and that's all we would ever really be. And aside from the occasional innuendo or implication, our future life together was never mentioned. Our parents would occasionally hint at marriage, and Nathan and I would laugh about it later.

Fact is fact though; Nathan is gorgeous. He's got an awesome body, all toned and tanned. Probably from all the hours spent playing basketball outside. His hair is raven black, and usually has that casual 'I-just-got-out-of-bed' look. And he has amazing eyes. They are a pair of the darkest, deepest, purest blue you have ever seen. When he's happy or lighthearted, they turn a few shades lighter. And when he's focused, they turn this intense shade of dark blue; so deep in hue they almost look black. In the picture I'm holding, Nathan is laying on the pavement at the Rivercourt, a semi-private basketball court down by the river. Hence the name _Rivercourt_. Anyway, he's lying on the pavement, shirtless because he just got done playing a basketball game.

_Flashback:_

"_He shoots…He scores! Scott for the win! And the crowd goes wild!!!" Nathan cheers, while I laugh from my seat on a picnic bench nearby._

"_Congrats Nate!" I cheer. "Not many people are skilled enough to win a basketball game consisting of one person, and one person only." I mock, glancing around at the solitude that surrounds us. Nathan had wanted to play basketball, so we came here and he shot around while I drew._

"_Well it wouldn't have to be a one person game if someone would join in every so often." He teased, moving to sit down on the court. _

"_You know I suck at basketball."_

"_Don't worry too much. Everyone sucks when compared to me."_

"_Cocky much?" I stick out my tongue, standing up from the bench._

"_Where ya going?" He questions._

"_Right here." I sit down next to him, and he casually moves to lay down on the court. _

"_It's okay to be cocky when you're the best." He flashes me his trademark smirk._

"_Oh. So now you're the best? I'm pretty sure Lucas could beat you." I say, sticking out my tongue again. Lucas is Nathan's older brother, by 3 months. He plays basketball too, but it's pretty obvious to everyone that the pedigree and talent belongs to Nathan._

"_Oh yea? Real mature Haley." He laughs, sticking his own tongue back at me._

"_Says the sixteen year old that still commentates on his own basketball games."_

"_Alright, that's it!" He says, reaching up to grab me, and once again I'm too slow. He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me down onto the pavement, where he proceeds to tickle the hell out of me._

"_NATHAN! STO-" But I'm laughing too hard to even speak. He pulls his hands away for a minute, and looks down at me mischievously. _

"_Say it Haley." _

"_Hell no!" _

"_C'mon. Say 'Nathan's the best basketball player in the whole entire world and my very best friend!"_

"_Nathan's the worst basketball player in the entire-" Before I can finish, his hands are _

_around my waist, back to the process of tickling me to death._

"_OK! Ok!" I gasp between breaths. "Nathan is the best basketball player in the whole entire world and my very best friend!" I scream, and at once the tickling stops._

"_There. Now was that so hard?" he mocks, as he leans back down onto the pavement, his hands underneath his head._

"_Very much so." I say with a fake pained expression, before smiling and moving over next to him, my head against his shoulder as he moves an arm to wrap around my shoulders. I elbow him. "Jerk. Now my sides hurt."_

_He makes a pitying expression. "Awww, I'm sorry Hales." His expression turns into a puppy dog one. "Forgive me?" he asks, sticking out his lower lip._

"_Oh god Nathan. You know I can't say no to that." I grimace, and get a shiver. The sun was beginning to set and I hadn't brought a sweatshirt to put on over my tank top. Nathan's arm wraps tighter around me, and I snuggle in closer to get warmer. _

_My leg brushes his and I jump a little at the feel of his cell phone vibrating in his shorts pocket. Rather than pull his arm out from around me, he uses his other hand, causing more of an inconvenience for him, but allows me to remain comfortable. That's just the kind of guy Nathan is. For me anyway. Other girls, Nathan wouldn't even take them to the Rivercourt. _

"_Hello?…Hey dad…Yeah, at the Rivercourt…Oh course she is…I don't know, a little while…Yeah, bye."_

_Shutting his phone, he turns his head towards me. "God, I swear sometimes my parents care more about you than they do me." _

"_It's because I'm just that damn adorable." I laugh, taking his phone from him._

"_This is true…what are you doing?" He questions as I navigate my way through his phone. _

"_Nothing…Smile!" I raise the phone above our heads and lean in as we both smiled for the camera. Well actually, I smiled. Nathan did that cocky smirk of his._

"_Must you always do that?" I ask dramatically._

"_I must." Nate nodded his head in confirmation._

"_Naaaaate. I want a nice picture of us! You always smirk!" I pout my lips like he had just done minutes before._

"_Ok first off, any picture of me with my shirt off is guaranteed to be a nice pic." _

"_Again with the cockiness." I pout my lip a little more. "Please Nate? I'll be your best friend."_

"_Fuck!. You can't use that face on me! It's cheating! Besides, we're already best friends. And may I just add how completely immature we sound right about now."_

_Seeing the look on my face, he finally gave in. "Okay, I'll cut you a deal. You do a pic with both of us smirking, and I'll do a pic so that we're both smiling. Happy?"_

"_Very." I smiled. _

_So for the next five minutes we took pictures of us smirking, smiling, and sticking out our tongues. Basically a couple of 16 year olds being completely immature, but hey, it was fun. _

_End of Flashback_

My thumb gently graces the glass as I hold the black frame in my hand. Nathan looked stunning in the picture; it's one of my favorites of him. My finger traces the letters that are embossed into the wood. B…E…S…eventually leading to the conclusion of BEST FRIENDS. Yep, that's exactly what Nathan and I are. Best Friends. No more, no less.

I hear a knock on my door and I turn around to get a glimpse of whom it is. It's obviously not Nathan; he hasn't knocked in years. Instead he just walks in as if he's lived here forever. Granted, he pretty much has. Turns out it's my stepsister, Rachel. She and I are pretty tight, though not nearly as close as Nathan and I are. Sometimes we go to the movies, or the mall, all three of us, and just hang out.

"Hey. Can I come in?" She asks, but already knows the answer so she just walks in anyway. "My gosh, looking at a picture of you and Nathan _again_? Surprise, surprise." She mocks. "It's like a damn shrine in here." But Rachel smiles, so I know she's just mocking. The truth is, my room _is_ like a shrine. Scattered around the room are various pictures of Nathan and I are growing up, or gifts that he bought me, or just stupid stuff that reminds me of him. Hell, he even has his own cabinet of clothes in my dresser when he stays the night.

I throw a pillow at her and she moved to sit down next to me on the bed, propping a leg up under her as she did so. Let me back up here, and start to explain everything to is to know about Rachel…

…Ok, so there isn't much to know. Her dad married my mom when we were both young. I think I was five, so she must've been six. Anyway, her mom had died, and my dad had walked out on my family before I was two years old, so there had been a lot of hurting between the two families. Anyway, our parents met, fell in love, and now they basically travel all over the country, for business purposes. He's a pilot, and she's a stewardess, that's how they met. It's like fate had written it in the stars…or clouds, but that sounds like a pretty bad pun.

Anyway, this leads me to Rachel. A year older than me, but we're both juniors because she flunked a grade awhile back. She's tall, green-eyed, redheaded, fair-skinned, and totally busty. In other words, she's beautiful. She has a ton of confidence, is sexy, and hell yeah, she knows it. Me on the other hand, I'm somewhat short, amber-colored hair, brown eyes, and a little curvy. In other words, I'm completely average. I'm not exactly shy, but I don't stand out just for the hell of it. Rachel's got the beautiful genes, while I've got the smart ones…yea, I know that stepsiblings don't actually share genes, but you get what I mean. At least, I hope you do.

"Earth to Haley." Rachel mocks, drawing me out of my trance. "Fantasizing about Nathan again?"

"Eww gross." I exclaim. "He's like-"

"My brother." We finish together, and I can feel the blush rise to my cheeks.

After a few moments of silence, she begins to speak. "So the parentals are MIA again. Any idea where they went to this time?"

Nodding my head, I answer. "Yeah, they went for pleasure this time. Second Honeymoon; remember? Maui? Ring a bell? They told us last week."

"Oh right. I zoned them out…isn't this like their fifth Second Honeymoon?"

"Nope. It's their sixth."

"Sweetness! Party time!" She grins, and I roll my eyes. Hitting me lightly on the shoulder, she stands up. "Okay, well party time for me. You can do whatever." I stuck my tongue out at her and she gave a small grin.

"Anyway, I'm going to work out, so I'll be back later. Don't wait up!" In other words, she's going to have sex with her latest boyfriend and she walks out of the room, raising her arms above her head, so that she's doing what I can only imagine is a dance.

The truth is, my parents are pretty much gone every other week. Between business trips or personal vacations, which I'm proud to say they _never _take us on, they are hardly ever home. It sucks, because we're pretty much two teenage girls living on our own half the time anyway. Rachel doesn't mind, and for the most part neither do I because I've got Nathan with me usually anyway.

I glance over at my clock. 5:30, Okay. Nathan is coming over at six, so that means he'll be here at 5:45. It's weird that Nathan is actually early when he comes to my house, nearly everything else he is late for. Even basketball, occasionally. But not to come over here, usually he's on time, if not early. Not that he comes over at designated times, which rarely happens. But usually he's here earlier than I expect him to be.

I go downstairs into the kitchen to get food out. Tonight he's coming over for movie night. We're conquering the SAW trilogy, and maybe all the Hannibal movies. We've had movie night every Friday for as long as I can remember. Even when we were younger, we'd stay at each other's houses and watch Land Before Time or Scooby-Doo. Of course, as we'd gotten older, the movies developed into our own personal tastes. Chick flicks for me, and scary ones for him. It's very Dawson/Joey-ish, but I love it. This week is obviously Nathan's pick of movies. I haven't seen any of the SAW movies, and have had no desire to. But Nathan loves them, so it's just a small price to pay to see him happy.

I look over the food scattered on the table. Pizzas, chips, popcorn, and a couple Smirnoffs. Nathan should be here any minute, so I head upstairs to change quickly. He knows to let himself in. Hell, he's been doing it for years. I open my closet door to figure out what I want to wear. I opt for a fitted shirt and a pair of shorts. The weather had been unusually warm this week, and the air conditioner is broken. Go figure that the rents aren't around to get it repaired. I had just pulled my shirt off over my head, when Nathan walks in, while I'm standing around in a bra and underwear.

"Hey Hales." He moves over to lie on the bed, acting completely indifferent to the situation. Nathan and I had seen each other naked more times than I can count. By now it's completely normal for us. I pull a tank top over my head and throw on a pair of shorts.

"Hey yourself." I say, and then proceed to tackle him. After a few minutes of wrestling, he finally pins me down onto my bed, holding my wrists.

"You suck. How does this always happen?" I ask, staring up into those dark blue eyes that I love so much.

"I'm not sure. I think you just like the feel of me on top of you." He grins. "Not that I blame you, I mean, if someone as hot as me was a sprawled on top of me…" As he smirks and raises one eyebrow suggestively, with one of my legs, I knee him hard in the ass.

"Ow, fuck!" He winces, moving a hand to the sore spot.

Using my free arm, I snaked it around his neck, and lightly brushed my hand against his skin. It's the one spot when Nathan is ticklish at, and his body jerked in response, causing him to release my other arm. Suddenly I moved out from under him. "Haha sucker!" and took off out my door and down the stairs. "Oh you are so dead!" I heard him call as he took off after me.

Once again I didn't think this through. As I hide out behind the granite island in the kitchen, I hear him sneak into the living room, a few rooms away. The rooms separating us being the entryway and the dining room. Quietly I try to formulate a quick plan in my head. Luckily, it works. I credit it to my amazing problem-solving skills. I've always been pretty quick on my toes, either for comebacks or just solving tricky math problems. Nathan always picks on me because I've solved some pretty difficult calculus problems in my head faster than he can do it with a calculator. Anyway, back to the present situation.

I turn my head around the corner of the island. The door of our stainless-steel fridge was about 4 feet away, but right next to the entrance. Meaning I'd have to be extra sneaky if I didn't want to get caught.

Edging my body around the island slowly, I quietly edge around it and scuffle across the floor, hoping the sound of my body dragging was not noticeable to Nathan. I slowly open the fridge door, holding it wide open as the quest begins to find my weapon. Reaching in, I grab exactly what I'm looking for, and put one arm behind my back as the other closes the door, only to reveal Nathan standing directly behind it, smirking widely.

"Holy shit Nathan!"

Nathan glances down at me. "What's behind your back?" He asks suspiciously.

"Nothing." I try to look as innocent as possible, but I can tell I'm failing miserably.

"Riiiiight." Well obviously he doesn't believe me. He unlocks his eyes from mine for a split second, and I begin my attack. The completely full can of whip cream first hits him on the cheek.

Nathan looks shocked for a minute, a huge glob of Redi-whip smeared on his cheek. Then he springs to action. Just like my problem-solving instincts, Nathan has trigger-fast athlete reflexes. He arms lunge for me, grabbing me by the waist, as my hands freely spray whip cream all over him. We begin to wrestle backwards until I'm pinned up against one of the cupboards. Nathan positions his body up against mine as he uses one of his hands to grab the can from me. _"I'm screwed."_ I privately think. Not that I mind…did I mention his body is pressed against mine? Nathan is smiling, and the cool whip makes him all the more gorgeous.

Taking the can from me, he positions it right next to my face. "Nate, _don't you dare_!" I caution menacingly. Apparently my threats mean nothing, because suddenly I feel a cool sensation on the side of my cheek. I stare up into his eyes, seeing them spark up teasingly. A split second later, whip cream is all over my hair. I push Nathan away and try to run, but he grabs onto me again. I move to run, but we both end up slipping on spilled whip cream.

Next thing I know, we're wrestling on the floor of my kitchen, both covered in whip cream, and fighting for the can. Somehow I ended up with it, and semi- on top of Nathan. Catching his eye, he hesitates, and at once I get lost in his deep, playful eyes. Brushing it off, I press down on the nozzle.

Nothing.

The can gives a soft hiss and a few watery droplets of whip cream before completely fizzing out. I look at it for a minute and begin to laugh. Nathan starts to laugh too, using his finger to wipe whip cream off of my face, he puts it in his mouth.

"Mmmm. Delicious." He smirks again.

_Have I mentioned I love him?_


	2. Chapter 2

**First off, I'm hoping you guys like this story. I can't make any promises of day-to-day ud's, but I promise to _try_ to UD at least once a week. Life can get pretty hectic, as I'm sure most of you know. If anyone needs anything cleared up, feel free to ask. I'm not gonna be picky about comments, but they are greatly appreciated, especially since they are greatly motivational, not to mention a total morale-booster to know that people are reading this story. **

**Secondly, I realize I didn't add a disclaimer to the first chapter…oops. Anyway, rather than type it every time, I'm gonna put it here, once and for all, got it? Good. hehe**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to One Tree Hill except for this story. However, if I did own James Lafferty, that spray can of whip cream from last chapter would've come in handy ;-)**

**Anyway, onto the story…**

**Chapter 2:**

A couple hours later, Nathan and I are on the couch, still completely sticky since neither of us showered after our little whip-cream war. It was towards the end of Saw III, and I was not only completely grossed out, but also totally scared out of my wits. Nathan was lying on the couch, and I was sprawled out on top of him, my head buried into his chest after a particularly brutal moment. His arm was wrapped around me, along with a blanket, yet I continue to shiver. Glancing up at me, Nathan's eyes are teasing, but caring at the same time. His hand begins to rub small circles on my back, gently comforting me through this terror of a movie.

My head is still buried into his chest as I hear a woman screaming in the background. _"Sweet Jesus, will this move ever end?"_ I think to myself, silently vowing to kill Nathan later for making me watch this. Cautiously, I peek my head out from under the blanket, turning back to face the TV, only to view another gripping scene of sadism. _"Bad idea Hales." _ I think again, giving a soft squeak and pulling my head back under the covers into his chest. I can hear Nathan laughing at the random noise I just emitted, and lightly I pinched him in his side. He stopped laughing, but I could tell he was still smiling.

"How can you stand to watch this?" I ask him from under the covers.

"Hales, it's fake. The blood isn't real. The dead bodies aren't real. The evil doll on the tricycle isn't real." He laughs, but manages to wrap his other arm around me to embrace me in a hug.

"Dude you are so watching The Notebook with me next weekend." I warn, though we both know it won't happen considering the fact that I hate that movie. "God this is the creepiest movie ever." I whine. There is no way in hell I'll be able to sleep tonight.

Nate gently pulls on the blanket so that my head is uncovered. He softly kisses my forehead, reassuring me that I'll be fine. I squeeze him a little tighter before jumping a foot high in the air after glancing back at the movie.

Now most people would find the present situation odd. Once again, Nathan and I aren't most people. We are completely comfortable with eachother; there is no awkwardness between us, no matter the situation. It's actually uncommon to find me not sprawled out against him, or his arms wrapped around me. We have our own group of friends, consisting of the two of us, and our friends Peyton, Brooke, and Lucas, Nathan's brother. Rachel has her own group of friends, pretty much her fellow cheerleaders Bevin and Theresa. We're still pretty close though, even with our differences in friends.

Brooke, Peyton, and I are cheerleaders along with Bevin, Theresa, and Rachel. All the guys are on the basketball team, with Nathan and Lucas as co-captains. Being on the two winning teams in Tree Hill High puts us on a pretty high social rank. However, to my group of friends, it doesn't matter as much. Considering the fact that I tutor, I know a lot of other people too, despite what most people think.

Brooke Davis is the fashionable one. She's spunky, cheery, and totally optimistic, making her the perfect Head Cheerleader, despite the fact that she's had a pretty rough life. She belongs to one of the richest families in Tree Hill, but she doesn't allow it to go to her head. Like me, and a number of unprecedented students, her parents are never home either. Must be something about that generation. I think she feels like she's not good enough, because she's always trying to make her parents proud, though I doubt they would even recognize her if they saw her on a street. Just last year she was elected Student Body president. Among all this, she's wicked pretty, with dark brown hair and bright brown eyes. Even though she's had her ups and downs, she's still the perkiest person I know.

Which brings me to my next friend, Peyton Sawyer. She too is a bombshell, with blonde curls and green eyes. She's also experienced more pain than anyone I know. Her mother died when she was seven, and her father is always out at sea, trying to give the daughter the life she deserves, though personally, I think she'd prefer to have a dad than a monthly check. Peyton is very broody, which is reflected in her drawings, as well as the music she listens too. She's got a killer taste in music. However, she's probably the first person I'd go to for advice about life, other than Nathan of course.

Lucas Scott is Nathan's older brother. Or, older half-brother I should say. Nathan's dad Dan unknowingly got Lucas's mom Karen pregnant in high school, only to go to college and get Nathan's mom Deb pregnant. By the time he found out both girls were pregnant, Dan was in deep water. He chose to stay with Dab. But continued to be there for Karen every step of the way. Unfortunately, Karen died after childbirth with Lucas, so Deb adopted Lucas in as her own son, and Nathan was born three months later. Pretty complicated, eh?

Rachel's friends Theresa and Bevin are your stereotypical high school cheerleaders. Blonde, ditzy, and completely superficial .All this leads to plenty of drama. Rachel is constantly pulled into the drama with them, over guys and parties, but I don't think she minds so much. It's quite odd how predictable they are.

By now the movie is over, and I turn my head to see the credits rolling. "Thank God." I sigh. Nathan smiles and moves to turn on the lights. I glance at the clock. "11:37. Are you staying here tonight?" I ask, stifling a yawn in the process. Nathan shakes his head. "I would, but my grandparents are in town for the weekend so I should head home to see them." He replies, his voice sounding anything but excited. Nathan's grandfather Royal Scott is 100 dedicated to basketball. He had never had a problem criticizing Dan about his game as he grew up, and now it seems the tradition had been passed down to Nathan.

After turning on the lights Nathan came back over and settled onto the couch. "Want me to stay with you until Rachel comes home?" He asks, and we both know he's doing it for himself just as much as he's doing it for me. I'm scared of the movie, and he's scared of his grandpa.

"Of course." I smile and gently move to put my head on his shoulder. Eventually my breathing began to slow and I could feel his becoming deeper when I heard the rattling of keys outside my front door. Moments later, Rachel stumbled in half-drunk, moving past the couch as she mumbles a high and goes up to bed. _"Wow. I'm going to be so comforted after watching three terrifying movies tonight._" I grimace. Noticing that Nathan had fallen asleep, I gently shake him awake.

"Nate…Nate…" I persist, and slowly his eyes open again. "Are you gonna be able to drive home?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He answers, and begins to gather his stuff. I walk him to the door and give him a brief hug. "Good luck." I whisper into his ear, and he embraces me a little tighter. He softly kisses my forehead before leaving. I shut the door behind him and lock it. Turning around, I decide to leave everything right where it is, rather than clean it. _"I'll pick it up tomorrow."_ I think to myself. Turning off the light, I head upstairs to my bedroom.

I push open the door and collapse on the bed. For some reason I'm too tired to even slide underneath the covers, let alone even change my clothes, I end up passing out on top.

I wake up to the noise of my bedroom window opening. Without opening my eyes, I know who it is. _Nathan_. Yet another one of our Dawson/Joey traditions. If we're ever having a rough night, we'll head over to the others' house and stay with them. For me it's if I'm ever lonely, and for him, it's if he's gotten into a fight at home. Not with his parents, hell no, his parents are amazingly nice. But whenever his grandparents are in town, that's another story. I wish Royal would just lay off him. Lucas isn't criticized for his every move…in fact; Lucas is completely ignored by Royal. Since he isn't Deb's son, Lucas is just a bastard to him, not worth his time or his "good advice." Funny how it turns out, Lucas actually has the better end of the deal in this situation.

Turning over in my bed, I move just in time to see Nathan pull his leg in. I always worry he'll get hurt climbing up the huge oak tree by my window, but he navigates it perfectly in the dark.

I get out, or off I guess, my bed and move over to him. "Nate…are you okay?"

It's then that he turns his face towards me and I see the huge black and blue bruise formed on his right eye. It's pretty swollen.

"Omygosh! Nathan what happened?" I asked worriedly. I bring my hands up to cup his face, my small hand grazing his cheek. His eyes are sad. And tired.

"He hit me. I got home, and the lights were all on. Usually my parents are in bed. But I go home, and everybody's awake: my dad, my mom, my grandma, and _Royal_. His eyes subconsciously flicker when he mentions his grandfather.

"So I walk in, and everyone is sitting in the living room. The TV isn't on; nobody's talking. They're just _sitting_. I walk up to my grandma and greet her. Ya know, say hi to my dad, my mom. Then I go to greet _him_, my hand raised to shake his, "The proper way to greet a man." he mocks, and what does he do? Sends a fist straight for my eye. It happened so fast."

"Oh Nate." I sympathize, even though I know there is going to be plenty more to come.

"So he goes, "Nathan Lee Scott, what in the hells name are you doing home this late?" And of course, I naively think that this is the part where he'll tell me how my parents were so worried, or that the streets are dangerous or something. But no, he says, "The season is about to start, what are you doing slacking off on sleep? Your jump shot is hell enough already; it's not going to magically get better by knocking a few beers back. When are you going to grow up and be a man you weak ass son of a bitch?"

"So at this point I turn to my mom. I tell her I was here. She nods, I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that half the time I'm with you anyway. So the bastard decides to cut in, shouting about how I should focus on my free throws rather than fuck some stupid ass bimbo." He pauses for a minute, and glances down sorrowfully towards me. "I'm sorry Hales."

I'm silent for a minute. Royal didn't even _know_ me. But honestly, I'm not that surprised. What Nathan said next did surprise me though.

"So I hit him. Before he could even finish dissing you, I punched him right across the face. He shook it off, saying how a girl could punch better, even though there was a small trickle of blood oozing from his nose. I could hear my parents mutter something in the background as he hits me again. Same eye, only this time, he used his other hand. His Tree Hill Class Ring of '58 hits me right above my eyebrow. I mean, can you believe he still wears that? A constant reminder of his fucking glory days."

I move his head towards mine, and softly kiss him on the cheek opposite of his injury.

"I left after that. I passed Lucas coming down the stairs on my way out. No doubt he heard the commotion. Our eyes connected, and he shook his head. "I'm sorry man."

I just storm out of the house the shouts between my dad and Royal still reverberating off the walls in my house, got in my car and drove here. Sorry for waking you up." He adds, looking at the clock. 1:49 am.

I wrap my arms around him and embrace him as my head rests on his chest. "It's okay Nathan, you know you can come here whenever." I say, looking up at him. "Do you need ice or anything?" I ask, glancing at the cut once more.

"Nah, I'm fine. A real man takes the pain as if he doesn't have any." He says, quoting Royal from a fight they had a few years ago. Silently I lead him to my bed, and I get under the covers. He moves to the other side, and reaches up to pull his shirt off. In the moonlight through the window I can see his smooth, chiseled chest and my breath catches in my throat. He's just so damn beautiful. He takes off his jeans so that he's only in his boxers, and slides in next to me. He wraps his arms around me and I snuggle up close to him. It's how we always sleep. My head rests against his chest as he slides one hand from my hair down to my lower back. His touch alone drives me crazy.

Nathan is the only one I ever open up to. And vice versa. Our friends know half as much about us as we know about the other person. I'm the only one, other than Lucas obviously, who knows how hard Royal is on Nathan. How pressured he feels. I'm so glad he opens up to me like he does.

It's pretty weird. Nathan is such a man when Royal isn't around. He's good to his parents, polite, and half the time trying to perfect his game. But then Royal comes to town, and criticizes Nathan so that he feels worthless. And Nathan puts up with it, or at least he did till tonight anyway. He still tries to be perfect for Royal, to make his grandpa proud. And it never works.

Nathan shifts a little in the bed. "Stop worrying about me Hales." He whispers lightly into my hair. "I'm fine." It's pretty creepy how he can tell I'm feeling before I can even vocalize it out loud. We're just that in tune.

I move my head back, and glance up at him. "Really?"

He gazes his eyes into mine. "Yeah. Positive. I don't want you to worry. I'll be fine." Softly he kisses my forehead and I move back up against him.

"I love you Hales." He says, a few moments later.

"I love you too, Nathan." The words being one of the truest things I've ever said.

The next morning, I woke up before Nathan did. Rather than wake him up, I took the time to look him over. The bruise did look bad, but you could already tell it was beginning to heal. In one part of it, I could see a tiny imprint of the number 1958. _"Oh, if I could kill Royal." _Not only for damaging this boy's perfect face, but also for crushing him blow by blow mentally whenever he had the chance to.

My eyes traveled down to Nathan's lips. Yet another perfect part of him. I often caught myself staring at them when he wasn't looking. God, I have to stop that. It's not like he'd ever like me anyway, nor would I ever make my feelings towards him known. If something were ever to happen so that we'd break up, I wouldn't be able to handle not being around him afterwards. No, everything is much better this way.

My gaze furthers even lower down to his chest, where I can visibly see his nipple ring. He got it when he was 14, and his parents almost killed him for it. Yet he never got it removed. He said something along the lines of, "The ladies love it." It sort of surprised me how many people didn't know about his nipple ring. Not that Nathan was a player or anything, but he's definitely been around. He's had two relatively serious girlfriends, and quite a few hookups, but I'm always surprised that if someone mentions it, how many people didn't know he's got one.

Brooke is the only soul in the entire world that knows my feelings towards Nathan. And even then, it's not like I'd told her on purpose. It all happened last summer at a beach party.

_Flashback: _

Brooke and I were walking along the beach, both of us totally wasted from numerous drinks. Time Smith, the bartender, had raided his parents' liquor cabinet for the party, and was now mixing anything and everything he possibly could.

We had stumbled away from the party, for some odd reason that I don't remember today. We sat down on the sand and just stared at the waves crashing into the beach.

"_God. Today was perfect." Brooke said laughing, tossing her head back and accidentally tipping towards the sand. _Did I mention how drunk we were?

"Not as perfect as Nathan." I said, not even realizing that I'd said it out loud, not in my head as I had imagined.

"_What did you just say?" She asked laughing uncontrollably. Not at my confession, Brooke always laughs her ass off when she's tipped a few too many back._

"_Nathan. He's perfect. I mean, he's smart, funny, he's got a killer body." I say, then suddenly gasp and cover my mouth with my hand, my eyes shocked._

_Brooke looked just as surprised. "You like Nathan? Wait, why am I so surprised? It should've been obvious judging by how close you guys are._

"Does he know?" She asks.

"_Of course not!" I scream. "And he, nor anyone else, is ever going to find out, got it?" I glance at her threateningly, and then we both began to laugh again. Brooke knows how to keep a secret._

"_It's alright. I like Lucas." She confessed, and it was my turn to by semi-shocked._

"_Really?" _

"_Yeah. That boy is amazing." She nodded, her glazed eyes becoming reminiscent. _

"_Those damn Scott boys are too damn irresistible." _

End of flashback 

Seconds later, we'd been attacked by both Nathan and Lucas. Luckily, they hadn't heard anything. And to this day, not a soul knows our feelings for those damn irresistible Scott boys.


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow everybody! I'm really surprised how much some people seem to like this story. Thanks so much! Anyway, I have a feeling you guys aren't reading this just because of the Author's Notes, so here ya go…**

**Chapter 3:**

Nathan still had yet to wake, and considering the night he had before, I wanted to give him plenty of rest. Today would be much worse, considering he'd eventually have to go home to receive his final judgment. No doubt Royal would yell, criticize, and denounce him in any way possible. Nathan's parents won't step in, Deb is scared to death of Royal, and Dan had already lived through Royal's torment. Dan of course, feels guilty about Nathan's situation, but would be powerless to stop it from occurring. It's an annual tradition, taking place when Royal and his wife May stop in to Tree Hill to check in on things.

I've never met Royal. Dan and Nathan are too protective of me to allow me to do so. Not that I've had much incentive for wanting do to so, the stories they've told of him have trained me to stay away.

There was one year when Nathan was shooting hoops in his backyard when Royal saw him miss a shot. One shot out of like thirty. So the next day, he woke Nathan up at the crack of dawn and made him run two miles with him, only to end up at the gym, pumping iron for three more hours. Nathan had come home completely exhausted. Later that night he was rushed to the ER due to dehydration. He ended up missing a few days of school because the doctor wanted him to recuperate.

So that's what will most likely happen. Nathan will go home and practically kill himself for the mere approval of his grandfather. I don't know why Nathan puts up with it. He's never gotten anything in return for his slow suicide. Never a "good job son" or an "I'm proud of you." Yet he continues to try.

There's a slight knocking on my door, and Rachel pops her head in. Eyeing the situation fairly quickly, she pulls her head out the door. "Oh! Sorry!" She says with a small blush on her face.

Once she closes the door, I can hear her doing a little happy dance. Quickly I remove myself from Nathan's arms, pull the blankets back over his body and head for the door. I can hear him readjusting his body as I open the door, where Rachel quickly pounces on me.

"Ha! I was so right! I knew you guys were going to hook up sooner or later." She says with an all-knowing smirk on her face. _"Seriously?! What's with all the smirking around here?!"_ I think.

"Shut up!" I whisper. "We _didn't_ hook up! He came over last night because he had no other place to go!" She doesn't believe me, and I shoot her a glare.

"Seriously!" I continue. "How many times do I have to tell you that there is absolutely _nothing_ going on between me and-" I hear the door open and turn to see him behind me. "Nathan." I finish.

"Hey guys." He says, completely unaware of the conversation Rachel and I were previously having. "What's up?"

"You tell us." Rachel says suggestively. Glancing up at his face, she almost does a double take. "Damn Nathan. You look like ass! I didn't know Haley liked it so rough." I shoot her another glare, which _does_ get noticed by Nathan. Walking towards the bathroom, she turns around and winks. Smirking, she closes the bathroom door as I flip her off. I turn back to Nathan, who is confused as hell.

"Hey. How are you doing?" I ask concernedly.

"Feels like I got punched in the eye by someone with a boulder for a ring."

"Hmm. Pretty close to it, I'd say, Mr. 1958."

He looks at me quite confused. Then turns towards the mirror in the hallway. "Damn! It left an imprint! Stupid fucker!" He spats angrily.

"Nathan!" I exclaim. Sure his grandpa is an ass, but he's still family.

"Hales! I'm so fucking sick of this shit. I'm killing myself for him, and he doesn't even notice! I'm never going to be good enough for him! It doesn't matter if I average 28 points a game, or if I lead the team to States, or if I get fucking MVP, if I miss a basket, I'm worthless to him!"

"Then _let _yourself be worthless, Nathan! He's not going to change! You _can_." I fight back. "Look at your dad! He's proud of your 28-point average! And all your teammates, do you realize how much they look up to you?"

Nathan looks shocked. It's not often that I have an outburst like this.

"Nice to see the fire in ya Hales." He smiles, and I soften up.

"I just care about you, that's all. I don't like to see you so defeated at two in the morning." I say, lowering my voice in sympathy.

He wraps me in a hug. "I know you care. I'm sorry about that, by the way."

"It's okay, you know that." I reply, and then slap him on the shoulder.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"That was for leaving the window open all night! And then stealing the blankets from me mister! I was freezing!" I say, moving my hands in a flourish to showcase my clothing of shorts and a tank top.

"Well, I was cold!" He moved his hands to showcase his clothing of only boxers. "You could've grabbed more blankets." He added.

"I did! You took those too!" I say, and he begins to laugh.

"I know! I was actually awake then." He smirks, and I slap him on the chest.

"Jerk."

"Whore."

"Ass."

"Skank."

"Bastard."

"Hooker."

"Jock."

"Nerd."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."

And that's how our fight went. Weird right? Well, it became even stranger after we realized that Rachel had exited the bathroom in time to watch it. She clapped her hands and stood back from a distance to watch it. Nathan and I grinned sheepishly.

"Wow, brilliant. You guys had me tearing up inside." She joked. "Anyway, I'm going to the movies later. You guys want in?"

I turned towards Nathan. He _did_ have to talk to Royal. But a little fun beforehand couldn't hurt, right?

"Yeah, we'll go. Just give us time to shower and stuff." I said, coming to the realization that I still had whipped cream on me. My arms were sticky, and my hair felt pretty stiff.

"Yeah, thanks for the mess in the kitchen by the way. Had a blast landing on my ass covered in cool whip this morning." Rachel smirked, raising an eyebrow towards us suggestively.

"What can I say? She couldn't keep her hands off me" Nathan joked.

I shot him a playful glare. "Bastard. We'll finish this later." Dragging him back into my room, I shouted to Rachel, "We'll be ready soon." Just as Nathan shouted, "See, what did I tell ya? She wants me."

After I closed the door, I slapped Nathan again. "Ouch! Rachel help she's abusing me!"

I could hear Rachel walking away. "You're on your own buddy!"

Nathan's jaw dropped. "Traitor." He muttered.

This time I smirked as I left my room to take a shower in the adjoining bathroom. That was one plus to having rich parents. Rach and I each had our own rooms and bathrooms, and more space than we could possible fill up. Mommy and daddy dearest also gave us two stellar cars for turning sixteen. Rachel got a yellow Aston Martin. I got a silver Porsche Carrera GT. Nathan however, totally took the cake when it came to sweet rides. For his birthday, his parents got him and Lucas each a Koenigsegg CCX. Lucas's is red, while Nathan's is black. Those cars are damn sexy. Talk about the luckiest kids in the world. I have no idea how his parents got so loaded. Then again, their dad does own car dealerships all over the state, while their mom is a manager for some of the top bands on the east coast. That explains it.

I turn on the shower until it's blaring hot, just the way I like it. Nathan once walked in the bathroom while I was showering, and claimed he got third degree burns in the process. What can I say? I get cold really easily! I mean, I once got goosebumps in a hot tub for crying out loud. And it's not my fault that my showers are super hot. His are super cold half the time…

_Flashback: _

"_Nathan!" I called through the house, trying to find him. I searched the kitchen. No Nathan. Living room. No Nathan, though a basketball game was playing on TV. I ran upstairs to his bedroom. Once again, no Nathan. I didn't think that he had basketball practice this early in the morning, and I couldn't think of where else he might be, unless he was out with Lucas or something._

_I heard the shower running down the hallway. Concluding that both Dan and Deb were at work, I had a 50 percent chance that Nathan was taking a shower. Still too much of a risk to check, God knows how embarrassed I'd be if it turned out to be Lucas. Plus, Brooke would totally kill me if I ever saw Lucas's package before she did. _

_I decided to check my emails on his computer while I waited for whomever it was to get out of the shower. It was there that his away message popped up, saying that Nathan was indeed taking a shower. _"There's solid proof."_ I think in my head. I walk down the hallway and open the door, shielding my eyes just in case it does happen to be Lucas._

"_Nathan?" I ask._

"_Haley?" He replies._

"_Ok. Thank God it was you and not Lucas." I let out a sigh. "Anyway, everyone's going to the movies today, want to come?"_

"_Yeah, I'll be out in a few." He answers. It's then I realize how cold the air is in here.  
And I don't mean cold to my standards; I mean cold to everyone else's. In other words, normal people._

"_Holy shit Nathan it's freezing in here!"_

"_Uh…yeah Hales." He answers._

"_Dude, you should probably get out of there before the water gets any--" Reaching my hand into the shower, the freezing water bounces of my skin. "Colder! Why are in a freezing cold shower in the middle of February Nathan? Are you insane?!"_

"_Uh…hold on a minute." The water turns off and I see his arm reach through the curtain to grab his towel off the sink. A few seconds later he opens the curtain; the dark blue towel wrapped loosely around his hips._

"_God he looks stunning." I stood, thinking to myself. My eyes quickly scan over his toned abs, and then back to his handsome face. Following me out of the bathroom, we head back to his room. He throws on some clothes; a high flyers t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. He came on to the bed so that he was a few inches away from, mimicking my pose of lying on my stomach, my arms folded under my chest in front of me. Glancing over at me, he begins. "You still haven't figured it out? I mean, you aren't exactly the epitome of clueless Hales."_

_I shake my head, still not getting the simple concept. "Give me a reason a teenage guy would take a cold shower." He says. Suddenly, everything is clear. _

"_God Nathan, that's so gross!" I say, even though I'm smiling, and I push into him lightly. _

"_Hales! I'm a guy! It's not like I can control it!" But he's smirking, clearly enjoying my reaction to the realization. _

"_Yeah, but Nate, in February?! Come on, weren't you cold?" I asked._

"_Uh yeah. Sorta the objective Hales." _

"_Wait…so when I walked in, were you…?"_

"_Yea." He answers proudly, and I shake my head. Unbelievable._

"_What about while I was talking to you?"_

_This time he hesitates a minute, not answering me automatically. "Nathan…" I warn._

_His expression turns into a sheepish one. "Yeah."I bury my head in my hands. "You're serious! Oh my gosh, that's awful Nate!" I say, but I'm also laughing uncontrollably now, so I doubt he's taking me too seriously. _

"_Hey, it's not my fault you walked in! And wouldn't it have been worse had I just turned the shower off? At least I finished the job!" He says, trying to justify his actions, placing his hand on my shoulder._

_I took comfort in the embrace until I realized what that hand had been doing 15 minutes prior. "Ugh! Gross Nate!" I say, shrinking away from his embrace._

"_Aww come on Hales! My hands are clean! That's just raunchy!" He says, making a face at me._

_After a few minutes I forgive him, but he begins to laugh. "You should've seen your face." He laughed. I swatted at him, but he ducked. Moving to get off the bed, I say, "I'll be downstairs waiting, don't take too long perv."_

_Thirty minutes later…_

_Nathan and I were in the car on our way to pick up Lucas and the rest of the gang. The ride had been pretty silent, minus the few quiet moments of laughter one of us had when we thought about what had just happened._

"_How often?" _

_I asked, during a particularly long period of solitude._

"_Honestly?" He asked, glancing over at me._

"_No. Lie to me." I say sarcastically._

"_Um…for me, like two out of three showers." _

"_Seriously? That often?" I asked, definitely surprised. This was one of the perks of having a best friend of the opposite sex; Free access to tons of information without being too embarrassed. _

"_Uh Hales. Pretty much every other morning I wake up with a pitched tent."_

"_A wha-? Oh. Nevermind." I say again, and he begins to smirk._

A few more minutes of silence…

"_Wait, so is that why sometimes when I wake up you're already in the shower?"_

_He shoots me an embarrassed look. "Yeah."_

"_But…"_

"_Would you rather wake up to that situation?" He asks, and I shake my head wildly, but I'm smirking._

"_So in my shower you…"_

"_Ye-"_

"_Wait, don't answer! I don't want to know!" I joke, and he shakes his head at me, a smirk on his face._

After a few more minutes…

"_Hey Nate?"_

"_Yeah Hales?"_

"_Who was it?"_

"_Who was who?"_

"_Ya know…the person who caused…" At this point the car swerved a little on the road. Nathan turned his whole head in my direction. _

"_Oh hell no!" He shakes his head. "No way am I answering that."_

"_C'mon Nathan! We tell eachother everything! I mean, you can tell me that you jerk off in my shower, but you won't tell me to whom? That is so not fair!" I whine._

"_Hales there is no way in hell that I'm ever answering that question!"_

"_Oh my gosh! It's someone we know, isn't it?!" I shriek wildly, clapping my hands excitedly in a very Brooke-ish way._

_A small tinge of pink to Nathan's cheeks told me everything._

"_C'mon Nathan! You have to tell me! It's someone we know, right? Tell me! Pleassssseeeee?!" I ask._

_He shakes his head._

_I use the infamous sad-eyes-pouty-lip face on him. He never resists that._

_Looking me dead in the eye, he smirks, and shakes his head no. He knows how much this is driving me crazy. And he's enjoying it._

"_No fair." I pretend to pout, folding my arms across my chest in an attempt to look like a five year old._

"_Think about it from my perspective Hales. If I caught you brooking yourself, would you tell me who you were brooking yourself to?" He asks, amusement clearing shown across his face._

"_Hell no!"_

"_My point exactly."_

"_I meant hell no to the fact that you think you'd ever walk in on me brooking myself. I can hide it better than that"_

"_Wait, so you've done it?!" He asked, his mouth dropped, completely shocked as the car swerves again._

_Now it's my turn to blush. "Yeah. So what? Don't you dare go all double standard on me now Nathan." I joke. "And keep your damn eyes on the road!"He shakes his head and continues driving. _

_Glancing over at him, I notice he's smirking._ "_What now?" I ask._

"_I could tell you what I'll be thinking about the next time I shower." He smirks at me, raising his eyebrows._

"_Oh shut up!" _

_He speaks again, under his breath, but still loud enough for me to hear, "Tutorgirl getting her freak on."_

_Needless to say Nathan was covered in bruises by the time we picked up the others._

_End of Flashback _

I lathered up my hair and rinsed it out. "_Screw repeating"_, I thought as I turned off the shower, getting out, I wrapped a towel around me, wrote "Hey Nathan!" in the steam on the bathroom mirror, and left the bathroom so I could get changed.Nathan was on the bed watching TV when I walked in. "Damn you're lookng hot Hales." He says.

"Uh. Thanks…I think." I say, thinking it's some sort of joke, but inside my heart is jumping up in down.

"No, I meant that your face is all red, but yeah, you're hot in the other aspect too." Nathan smiles as I shoot him one. As I reach into the closet to get clothes for the day, Nathan lays motionless on the bed.

"Aren't you going to shower?" I ask.

"In a minute, I'm enjoying the view right here." It takes me a minute to realize what he's saying then suddenly I turn around.

"Perv."

He simply smirks in response. Finally getting up from the bed, he heads for the bathroom. "I am only human!" he replies before he shuts the door.


	4. Chapter 4

To those who I deeply confused w/ the whole posting fiasco, I'm sorry. I kept noticing stupid mistakes in chapter 3, and I couldn't figure out how to edit them after I posted it. So, being the blonde that I am, I deleted the entire document, and then uploaded it again. Since then, I've found easier ways to edit which are amazing, seeing how more likely than not, it'll happen again

Oh yeah, I also want to say how in some chapters, I may switch the perspective to 3rd person, rather than 1st person the entire story. It's just an idea that I'm playing with, so no guarantees.

**Once again, thanks so much for the reviews / alerts / favorites! You have no idea how exciting they are to see!!!**

**Chapter 4: **

We were all piled into Nathan's car, and headed to the theatre. Considering the fact that Tree Hill is such a small town, we don't have a movie theatre, and so we had to drive to a nearby town.

We've been riding in silence for a while, but it's still pretty content.

"We should do something." Rachel says.

"We're going to the movies." I say in a 'duh' tone.

"No duh." She says in the same mocking tone. "I meant in here."

We sat in silence for a few more seconds as we began to think.

"We could play the radio game." I suggest.

"Okay." Rachel agrees, and I turn to Nathan.

"Fine by me." He says.

"Okay." I think for a minute. "I've got nothing."

"I do!" Rachel speaks up. "How do Naley _really_ feel about eachother?"

Nathan and I turn to look at her, and then I realize what he's doing, so I hit him so that he'll keep his focus on the road. Like I said, we've got a very physical relationship.

I give her a weird look. "Who's Naley?"

"Duh Hales." She looks at me. "Nathan, Haley; _Naley_"

I roll my eyes. "Fine. You want to know how Nathan and I really feel about eachother?" I say dramatically. "Nate, I'm sorry, but our secret is about to come out." I say jokingly, laying my hand on his shoulder.

"It's about time." He agrees, and I smile, moving my hand from his arm so I can turn on the radio.

Hinder's song Just Friends quickly fills the car with sound.

I smile triumphantly until I notice Rachel is smirking from the backseat.

"See, Just Friends. That's the name of the song. The radio doesn't lie" I gloat, not even listening to the song.

"Hales, have you even heard the lyrics?" I shut up for a minute and listen to the song.

_I saw you there last night   
Standing in the dark  
You were acting so in love  
With your hand upon his heart  
But you were just friends  
At least that's what you said  
Now I know better from his fingers in your hair_

"The radio doesn't lie, right Hales?" Rachel smirks, and I blush. I glance over at Nathan, who's smirking also."

"Shut up." I say, and sink deeper into the seat.

The rest of the trip is pretty much silent as we listen to the radio. Once we get to the theater, we have to figure out what to see. Nathan wants to see Grindhouse, but I quickly turn that down because I had my fill of scary movies last night. Rachel wants to see Are We Done Yet, because she absolutely loved the first one, but Nathan isn't interested. So being the genius that I am, suggest Blades of Glory, because really, who doesn't love Will Ferrell?

As we're buying our tickets, Rachel starts talking. "Don't look now Hales, it's lover boy."

I give a confused look. "Who?" But before she answers, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

Turning around, I see my ex-boyfriend Craig. We dated for a few months last year, but split because his mom was diagnosed with cancer. I didn't want to distract him with a long-distant relationship, so we broke up mutually. He was my first serious boyfriend. I'm kind of surprised that I haven't thought about him much lately. Then again, I dated him pre-love of Nathan.

Craig looks exactly the same as he did last year. I haven't seen him lately because he goes to Wilmington, while I go to Tree Hill. Anyway, he's tall, not as tall as Nathan, but still pretty tall, with bright green eyes, and brown hair. It's not as brown as Nathan's, but it'll do. Seeing Craig made me remember all the times we spent together last year, and I realized that I still missed him a little.

"Craig, hey." I say with a smile, and reach up to give him a hug. It felt like old times.

There was no need for introductions, because both Rachel and Nathan already knew him. Rachel greeted him, while Nathan did the whole 'man-hug' thing with him.

"What movie are you seeing, Haley?" He asked me.

"Um." I lost my train of thought for a moment.

"Blades of Glory." Rachel filled in for me, and I blushed a little.

"What a coincidence. Me too." He says, holding up his ticket. "Do you want to sit with me?" He asks me, and then turns to the other two. "That is, if you guys don't mind. I don't want to steal her from you or anything."

Nathan shrugs, and Rachel ushers me along. "Nah, you can take her. We were getting sick of her anyway." I quickly thank them, and then walk off to the theatre with Craig.

As we sit down, he turns to me. "I've missed you Hales."

I've missed him too, but it feels pretty awkward for him to call me Hales. Rather than reciprocate, I ask, "How's your mom doing?"

He looks down for a minute. This can't be good. "She uh, passed away a few months ago."

"Oh Craig, I'm so sorry!" I say. And I mean it; his mom was such a nice person.

"It's okay."

By now the lights have dimmed, and I let my mind wander to Nathan and Rachel a few rows ahead of us. I feel bad for just ditching them like I did, but they don't seem to mind. I was afraid it might be awkward, because they haven't ever really hung out together alone before, but they seem to be fine.

The movie started playing, and halfway through it Craig slipped his arm around my shoulders. I shrugged away from it. "Uh Craig. I'm sorry, I don't feel that way about you anymore."

The words sound foreign in my mouth. He and I had so much history. He was the guy I'd lost my virginity to; there would always be that connection.

"Sorry." He apologized, looking a little put out.

"Me too." I say.

After a few minutes, he started talking again. "Have you dated anyone since me?"

I wanted to be honest. "Yeah, a couple of people." I look into his eyes; he just nods with understanding. "Sorry."

He shakes his head. "Don't be Hales, I mean, I dated other people too. I just didn't want you to like, wait around while I helped out my mom. It's actually a relief to know that you got over me."

"It wasn't that easy. I mean, at first I thought about you like, constantly. How you were doing, how your mom was, if you ever thought about me. But after awhile, I just, adjusted I guess."

"Yeah, I know what you're saying. It's good to know you're doing all right Hales."

"Yeah, you too Craig."

We smile and go back to watching the movie.

On the way back to the car, after Craig and I said goodbye, Rachel wouldn't stop smirking. Nathan was pretty indifferent.

Once in the car, Rachel pounced.

"Co how was loverboy?" She asks excitedly. "Are you guys going out again?"

Nathan looks over, interested this time. "Yeah Hales, are you gonna have a new bed mate?"

"Ok first off! We're not going out, I don't like him!" I say, laughing at their interest. "Besides Nate, I don't think three people could fit in my bed." I tell him, wiggling my eyebrows, and he smirks."

Rachel was silent for a minute. The she spoke up, saying, "Ya know, Haley, you seem to _not_ like a lot of people around here." She looks pointedly at Nathan, while he smirks back at her in the mirror.

"Oy vey! Nathan and I," I say pointing my finger between the two of us, "Are _just friends_. And _not_ like the song!" I say before she can mention the song from earlier.

"And as for Craig, that was so long ago, so much has happened since then! Sure, it was nice to see him, but there is no more chemistry there!" Tried from my little outburst, I turn around and slump down in my seat.

"What about Lucas?" Rachel persists, totally ignoring my last comment.

I shake my head no.

"Come on Hales, there must be somebody you like! I mean, you've had sex before; surely you're going through a dry spell now, don't you ever have, I don't know, _urges_?"

"Well yeah, of course. But unlike some people, I can get over them without getting under somebody else." I say pointedly back at her. I can hear Nathan snickering to the left of me.

"Okay, point taken. But just because I love sex doesn't mean I'm a slut."

"Nah, of course not. It just makes you a whore." I say, sticking my tongue out at her.

"Better a whore than a crazy cat lady."

"I'm not a crazy cat lady!"

"When was the last time you had a boyfriend?"

"Probably the last time you used a condom. Seriously, how are you not pregnant yet?"

"Hey, it takes away from the sensation!"

"Whoa, way too much information."

"Ask Nathan, he'd know."

This conversation just took a serious turn. Rachel had edginess to her tone, and I had no idea what the hell sparked it. We always fight sarcastically like this, only now it seems like we're actually fighting.

Nathan suddenly spoke up. "Hey! Leave me out of this." Looking at Rachel, he says, "How the hell would you know that anyway?"

"I hear some things."

By now I'm lost. Looking at Nathan, I completely ignore Rachel. "What is she talking about Nathan?"

"It's nothing." He assures me, but there's still a little doubt in my mind. "Who'd told you that, your friends? Because if they did, you might want to check your sources. They aren't exactly reliable…with the truth anyway." He says as he glares at her.

"Bevin and Theresa aren't sluts!"

"Nah, more like whores." He says.

I interject again. "Nate, what the hell is she talking about?"

He turns to me. "Can we talk about this later?" He asks, his tone softer than the one he'd just used with Rachel.

"No. We're talking about it now." I say, my tone still pretty fiery. "Did you seriously sleep with someone without protection?"

He's avoiding my gaze. Then slowly he begins to nod his head.

This time I actually slapped him. Hard. He winced and moved one of his hands from the wheel to rub his shoulder. "What the fuck Hales?"

"How the hell could you be so stupid?" I ask. "What if she'd gotten pregnant, you ass?!"

"She didn't!" He justified, and I slapped him again.

"Ouch, Hales, c'mon! It happened like once! It's not like an everyday occurrence!" He says, pointedly shooting Rachel a look.

"Who was it?" I ask, my voice a little softer, more calm.

Looking me directly in the eye, Nathan says, "I…I don't remember."

Silence filled the car. Suddenly Rachel, being the bitch that she is, spoke up. "I do!"

Both Nathan and I turn to look at her.

"Bevin's sister _Carrie_, jackass. Seriously, how many girls do you have to sleep with before you start forgetting their names?"

I turn towards Nathan. He looks ashamed as he stares back at me. "Hales…" he begins.

"Answer the question Nate." I say softly. I knew Nathan had been with a few girls before, but I never actually knew how many. For all I know, Bevin's sister could've been his only conquest, but considering the fact that he forgot her name, I highly doubt it.

"Can we talk about this later? In private?" He asks, shooting a glance towards Rachel.

"Okay." I say. I give up, defeated. The rest of the ride home is in silence.

Once we get back to my place, Nathan and I head up to my room to talk.

"Hales." He begins as he closes the door behind him, while I collapse on my bed and close my eyes. Pretty soon I can feel him lay down next to me, his arm wrapped around my waist. Rather than move in to his embrace, I lay right where I am.

"I'm sorry." He says after a few moments.

"Sorry for what? Doing it, or getting caught?" I ask.

"A little bit of both." He admits. Suddenly, I get a new wave of energy.

"Nathan, how the hell could you be so stupid to have unprotected sex? What if she'd gotten pregnant? You might not go to college; basketball would be in jeopardy! And for what? An unimportant screw? Considering that's what I think it is since you couldn't even remember her name!"

"Hales, I was drunk!"

"Don't even blame this on alcohol Nathan! You should still be conscious for your actions, even if you are wasted beyond belief! And it's not like the baby would be any less yours if alcohol were involved! God, how could you be so stupid! If she'd gotten pregnant, we sure as hell wouldn't be having this conversation; you'd be out buying diapers and cribs! Nathan, you have so much ahead of you to become a father now…haven't you learned anything from your dad? "

"Hales, I wouldn't be with her if she'd gotten pregnant, it was just one time." He reasoned. "Who knows if it'd even be mine? It is Bevin's sister after all."

I slapped him again, hard. "Jackass! You'd abandon her?! Nathan, what the hell is wrong with you? I can not believe you just said that! You can handle the sex, but as soon as it's actual responsibility, you'd bail?"

"Basketball is my life Hales. It's not my choice if she keeps the kid."

I stare at Nathan. Why the heck was he acting like this? Acting like girls were just objects for his own amusement?

"Get out."

"What?"

"You heard me. Get out. Go home, Nathan."

"But Hales…"

"Nathan, just go."

We both get off the bed and I'm pushing him towards the door. "You're not the guy I thought you were Nate, you're so much better than that."

"Hales, c'mon." He tries to reason as I close the door.

Nathan and I hardly ever fight like this. You can tell it's a serious fight if I send him home. Nathan hates it there, yeah his parents' rock, but sometimes they fight. Actually, they fight a lot. And Nathan hates it. They always put Nathan or Lucas in the middle of the argument, and half the time Nathan ends up sneaking out and coming over here.

It's the ultimate punishment to send Nathan home. More so if Royal is there. And to send him home after a night like last night, well that's just cruel. But right now, I really don't care.

I fall back onto my bed, utterly exhausted. I move to rest my eyes, when suddenly Rachel walks in.

"Whatever happened to knocking?" I asked bitchily.

"Whoa. Retract claws please." She says. "I came to apologize. I shouldn't have opened that can of worms in the car. I'm sorry for causing that fight between you guys."

"You didn't. He did. By being an immature jackass."

"Are you okay? Why are you so tweaked?" She asks tentatively.

"He's just not the guy I thought he was." I answer bitterly.

"Hales, he's human. He's not perfect. He makes mistakes. Every once and awhile you have to bring him down from that pedestal you hold him on and let him live. You can't baby-sit him 24/7 Haley, he's got to learn to deal with his mistakes."

"Yeah. I guess. But it doesn't make what he did any better."

"I think he really is sorry Hales, at least it only happened once."

"But still, you knew about it! I'm his best friend, why didn't he tell me?"

She snickers, but runs a hand through my hair, brushing it out of my face. "Darling, look at how you reacted, he hates to disappoint you, just like you do him. Don't judge him too harshly Hales. He just wants to be the guy you want him to be."

"_That'd be my boyfriend. And we both know he doesn't want that."_ I think to myself.

"I guess." I say, defeated.

Waiting a few seconds, Rachel finally realizes what is missing.

"Where is he anyway?"

"I sent him home."

"Poor boy. You must've been pissed."

"Yeah, only now I'm guilty."

"Hales, don't be. He's a big boy."

"Yeah, I guess."

"I mean that literally too, I've heard stories."

"Dear god. Thanks for the images Rach."

"Anytime, sister." She says as she leaves.

And this is why I love her. We fight, we process, and then we forgive. Even when we're pissed, we still have each other's backs. Kinda like Nathan and I. Though I do feel bad about sending him away. Let's just hope he forgives me for that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the reviews! I love reading them! And sorry for taking a few days to update, I had to paint my room. And then after I'd finished writing this chapter, it wouldn't let me load the document for whatever reason. So I've had this chapter ready for about 5 days now, but haven't been able to upload it! Anyway, it's here now, so enjoy. **

**And don't worry; the drama won't really begin for a few more chapters. I'm enjoying writing all this cheesy Naley stuff.**

**Anyway, enjoy.**

**Chapter 5:**

I'm lying in my bed; it's around midnight. Which means I've been in my room for three hours now, trying to sleep but failing miserably. I still feel guilty about Nathan, though part of me knows I shouldn't.

I spent the rest of the day on my own for the most part. After checking on me, Rachel went to her boyfriend's. I stayed here, part of me hoping that Nathan would call, the other part of me hoping he'd stay away.

I didn't want to give in to call him. Mainly because I was still a little pissed about our earlier conversa- errr, argument. I knew we each needed a little bit of time apart before we dealt with those issues again.

The second reason why I didn't want to talk to him is because I wanted to give him a chance to talk to his family. Last night's ordeal was weighing on him heavily; he was distracted all morning. I just wanted to give him time and space to make peace with his family, or attempt to anyway with Royal.

Around nine when Rachel got home, I told her I was heading up to bed. I was exhausted, but my eyes wouldn't close. Three hours later, I continue to face the same predicament.

I keep my eyes open, not just because I can't sleep, but also because I want to be awake if Nathan comes over. I want to be able to apologize with an open mind, not one clouded with sleep.

By twelve thirty, I've officially counted all the cracks in my ceiling, as well as imagined at least fifteen different ways to apologize to Nathan, three of them in different languages.

By one forty-five, I find it safe to assume that he's still pissed, and that he's not coming over tonight, not that I blame him. Slowly I turn on my side and allow all the fatigue from the past 24 hours to wash over my body. Within minutes, I'm asleep.

Sometime during the night I had rolled over in my sleep and bumped into the wall. I woke up, only to remember that my bed is located in the middle of the room, not next to either wall. Turning my head, I see a sleeping Nathan next to me. Glancing at my clock, it reads three twenty-four. We still have a few more hours until we have to face reality.

I carefully brush my thumb over his jaw line, admiring how beautiful he is, even when he's asleep. Tonight he's worried about something, his forehead is wrinkled and his eyes are shut tightly. I wonder if it's about yesterday. I move my head up and gently kiss him on his forehead before settling back in to sleep, my body a little closer to him.

As I balance between conscious and subconscious states, I faintly feel Nathan's arm slip around my waist and pull me closer.

The next morning, or a few hours later I guess you could say, my eyes open directly to face Nathan, who's already awake. He stares at me for a few seconds, and suddenly I say

"I'm sorry Nate" just as he says, "I'm sorry Hales."

We face eachother for a few seconds before we each let out a small laugh. Even though we both apologized, I still feel a little tension between us.

"Look Nathan, I totally overreacted. It's your business, I guess you can deal with it any way you want to."

He nods his head. "You were right Hales, I was totally out of line. Of course I wouldn't pull a Dan and ditch the girl, but you were freaking out about the possibility of me being a father and not being able to play basketball, and I guess reality just sunk in. Forgive me?" he asks, his blue eyes looking sincerely sorry.

"Of course. But only if you forgive me for tweaking out on you yesterday." I say back.

He smiles and we move in to hug eachother. Even though we were only apart for a few hours, it feels good to be back in his arms. I bury my head in the crook of his neck and inhale that all too familiar smell of his aftershave.

"Hey Nathan?" I ask, pulling back from the hug.

"Yeah?"

"I know we just made up and all, but can I ask you something about yesterday?"

He hesitates for a moment, as if he's wondering if he's willing to risk opening that can of worms again. "Okay."

"What Rachel said, about sleeping with all those girls…how many have you been with?" I ask, then feel myself blush a little. Even though we're close, it's still a little embarrassing to ask, let alone know.

Nathan looks away, avoiding my gaze. He's silent, and in the silence many worst-case scenarios enter my mind. But nothing like I imagined could prepare me for what he said next.

"I…I don't remember."

I stare at him in disbelief. _How do you not remember whom you've been with?_

Seeing the look on my face, he quickly speaks again. "Well, it's not that I don't remember really, I remember a lot of them…but for most of them I was drunk. I sorta lost count."

"After how many?" I ask carefully.

"Uhhh." He looks up guiltily. "Around the twenties."

_Holy shit_. I've been with three guys. Nathan's been with at least twenty-some girls?!

Nathan cowers away from me, pulling some of the blankets with him. _"Here comes the cold_." I think to myself.I can tell he expects me to slap him, or to start screaming again. Nah, it's way to early in the morning for that. Instead, I start laughing. Not like giggling, more like full on laughing-my-ass-off-gasping-for-air- sort of laugh. Nathan looks beyond confused.

Sensing that I won't be slapping him anytime soon, he inches closer to me, back to his normal spot. I quickly pull more blankets onto me, while still laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny?" He asks.

"Nathan you're such a slut." I say in between laughs.

"Not my fault the ladies love me." He says smirking, and I groan.

"Oh it's love all right. I'm sure they go crazy for those STD's too." I tease.

"Nah. I'm clean. Wanna see?" He offers while smirking, big surprise.

"The syphilis? No thanks." I deadpan. "Tell me when you get gonorrhea though. That might be interesting to see."

"Alright. Game over." Nathan says, and rolls over on top of me so that I can't escape when he begins to tickle me.

"Natha- NATE, st- …sto-!" I try to get him to stop but I'm laughing too hard to actually say anything. He continues to tickle me. This carries on for a few moments until I can finally get a breath of air.

"Okay! Nathan Scott does not have an STD!" I scream, hoping he'll stop tickling me. Luckily, it works. Nathan backs off, and rolls back into his spot, yet again smirking.

My sides hurt again. I glance over at Nathan and give him an evil glare. He laughs in response.

"Jerk." I say, the mock glare on my face.

"Awww Hales. Want me to kiss it and make it feel better?" He kids.

I nod my head jokingly, and he moves his head over to my stomach. Glancing up at me, he says, "Can I kiss a few other things while I'm down there?"

Pushing him away, I say "Perv."

_God, what is with that smirking?_

Rolling back over in bed, I quickly glance at my alarm clock. 7:15 am.

Glancing at the clock too, Nathan sighs. "I should probably go home soon. Me parents still want me to say goodbye to Royal, even after all the shit he's put me through this weekend."

"I'm sorry Nathan." I sympathize. "On the right side darling, at least he's going home." I say brightly. "While I'm going back to bed, because it is way too early in the morning for me to function. Though I doubt I'll be able to sleep because my stomach hurts so much." I throw in.

"Alright, so let's go back to sleep." Nathan says, settling back down under the covers.

"I thought you said you had to go."

"I probably should. But I'd rather stay here with you." He says, and I can see the truth within his dark blue eyes.

"Good." I smile. "Because I'd rather you stay here too."

We settled back down under the covers, where we both easily fall back asleep. But not before I feel Nathan's arm slide around my waist, this time his hand finding the skin underneath my tank top. I shiver, and instinctively Nathan pulls me closer.

If only he knew he's the reason why I shiver so much.

Hours later, I wake up, Nathan is gone, and the smell of pancakes and bacon is wafting through the house. On instinct I reach over in bed, only to find him gone. He left a note though, saying he had to go, but he'd probably be back later.

After reading the note, I wander downstairs following the delicious smell of pancakes. Upon arriving in the kitchen, I see Rachel pulling a carton of orange juice out of the fridge.

"I didn't know you could cook." I say, slightly surprised.

"I didn't." She smiles, wandering over to the stove, where she proceeds to pick up two bags of take-out food. "Who knew that IHOP delivers?"

"Great. I'm starving." I say, just as much stomach growls loudly.

"Evidently." Rachel says, smirking.

I grab a plate and food and sit down at the table across from her. "Rough night?" She asks deviously, taking in my appearance.

I haven't looked in a mirror yet today, so I have no idea what she's talking about. But I decide to play along anyway. "You could say that." I say, taking a bite of food.

She smirks at me, and I return it.

"So the rents called this morning." She begins.

"Oh this oughta be good."

"Yeah, they met some friends in Hawaii. A guess another couple on their honeymoon or something. Anyway, the couple owns a hotel in Vegas so they invited our parents to come stay there for a few days."

"Shocker." I say, not surprised at all.

"I know, that's what I thought." She replies. "Anyway, mom said they threw a couple more thousand in our bank accounts so we have money for school shopping and beer." She smirks. "

"You threw the beer thing in right? Because the day mom actually supports underage drinking is the day she supports actual parenting."

"Yeah, I added it. Thought it was a nice touch."

"It was." I smile.

"Considering the fact that we have the house guaranteed to ourselves for the next couple of weeks, what better an idea than to share it with everybody else? It's been awhile since we've had a party in the lame-ass hick town. Interested?" Rachel asks.

"Very much so."

"Good. Because I was still going to have one even if you didn't agree. It's going to be this Friday; Sort of a last-freedom-party-before-we're-officially-tied-down-as-seniors- sort of shindig."

"Alright. Sounds good." I say through a mouthful of food.

"Pleasant. Anyway, since we now officially have money again, I'm going shopping. Wanna come?" She asks.

"Nah, I think I'll hang out with Brooke and Peyton later, it's been awhile." I say, as she fake barfs up her food. "Oh come on, they aren't _that _bad." I argue. "At least they have brain cells in the double digits, which is more than I can say for your friends."

"Bev and Reese may be stupid, but at least they have connections to the hottest nightclubs in town. Can you say that about your friends?"

"Please. Brooke got me my first fake id in the sixth grade. Not that I even looked old enough to use it, but it's the thought that counts." I joke.

"Whatev. You're friends still suck." She smirks, but she winks, so I know she's kidding.

"Oh really? Because that's what your friends are _famous_ for." I tease.

Rachel clears away her plate and heads for the door. "Low, but completely justified, blow. Anyway, you better take a look in the mirror before you call anyone a hoe sweetie." She kids. "Bye Bitch!" She says, as she leaves the house.

"See ya Slut!" I finish, and with our normal goodbyes completed, I head for the shower.

Rachel wasn't lying when she said I looked like a mess. My hair was everywhere, looking as if I really did have a wild night. Some of my makeup had spread, but it wasn't too bad.

I hopped in the shower quickly, got out, and called Brooke.

"Hello?" She answers.

"Hey B. Davis. Busy today?"

"Tutorgirl! MY GOD it's been forever! And no, completely free, why?"

"Heh, it's only been three days Brooke."

"Well lots of things can happen in three days! People die, get pregnant, celebrities get married _and_ divorced. I'm being completely reasonable here."

I laugh, and continue on. "Well I can assure you none of those has happened. Anyway, Mommy and Daddy dearest just refilled our bank accounts, want to go shopping?"

"Oh My God! Yes! Yes! Yes!" She screams, as I hold the phone a foot away from my ear. Honestly, you'd think Brooke never goes shopping. In reality, she practically lives at the mall. "I'll pick you and P.Saywer up in thirty minutes Tutorgirl!" She says as she hangs up the phone.

The entire conversation took place in under forty-five seconds. Laughing, I hang up the phone, knowing I have at least another hour before Brooke comes to pick me up. The girl is always late. I wouldn't doubt it if she was late to her own funeral when she's older.

I walk to my closet, still clad in only a towel, and decide what to wear for the day. Not that it'll matter much. Brooke will show up in an hour and waste another twenty minutes forcing me into another outfit. It's quite funny actually. No matter what I pick out, if I don't look like a total slut, she'll change my outfit.

I decide to test her today. I grab my sluttiest top, a black halter, and my shortest denim skirt. Then I dry my hair, and through it up in a sleek ponytail. Quickly I text Nathan.

"Hey. Going shopping w/ B n P 2day."

A few minutes later my cell vibrated.

"Haha. Have fun w/ that. Ballin RC (Rivercourt) w/ L and S."

"Back u." I quickly reply.

"So whatd u pic 2 wear?"

I send him a picture of my outfit.

"Not slutty enuf. B's gonna make u change."

"I kno. Cant wait…movie 2nite?"

"nething but the ntbk (notebook)"

"damn. ill find sumthin else P."

"g2g. cu later hales."

"cya nate."

I close my phone just as Brooke's car honks from outside. Quickly I grab my purse and throw on a pair of flip-flops. I open the door, and almost immediately Brooke pounces on me. Giving me a three-second scan, she says, "Tutorgirl, we have work to do."

I glance over at Peyton, who merely smiles.

"Great."


	6. Chapter 6

**Once again, thanks for the reviews! Oh, and I know absolutely nothing about basketball, which will be mentioned later in the chapter, so just bear with me if I make a total fool of myself. You've been warned. hehe.**

**Chapter 6:**

So after another thirty minutes of arguing with Brooke over what to wear, we were finally out the door, on our way to the mall.

_Flashback_

"_Brooke, this outfit is slutty enough!" I exclaim, pointing to the black halter. _

"_Tutorgirl, I admit, you look hot. But you don't look like 'BAM! Hotness!' just quite yet." She says, thinking hard as her finger taps against her chin._

_Peyton and I exchange a look before we each start laughing our asses off. _

"_Bam hotness?" I ask Brooke, as Peyton begins to snort while laughing, which just makes the situation that much funnier. _

"_Well it makes perfect sense." Brooke tried to justify. "Like you can look at someone and say, "Yeah, she's hot." Or you can look at someone, and their hotness just hits you, and your just like 'BAM- she's hotttt!' _

_I try to nod my head in a serious manner, but end up laughing again. Brooke playfully swats at my arm. I swear, that girl is pretty smart, but sometimes she has intense blonde moments. Or should I say, 'BAM! Blondeness!'? _

"_Here, try this on." She says, throwing towards me a blue halter with a hole looped in the middle of the chest. Along with this, she throws an even shorter skirt towards me. _

"_Dear god Brooke. Why don't you just give me the street names of the corner I'm going to be standing on?" I ask. _

"_Not funny. Besides, you'll look great. I promise."_

_So I strip down and throw the clothes she gave me on. If I felt like a slut before, it's nothing compared to how I feel now._

"_Perfect." Brooke nods approvingly._

"_I agree. Tutorgirl you are smokin'" Peyton adds while checking her watch. "Okay, we better leave before the stores actually close on us."_

_Brooke and I nod our heads, and on the way out the door we hear Brooke say, "Now that's 'BAM! Hotness!' _

_End of Flashback_

Which leads to where I am now; a changing room in the mall with a pile of shorts, jeans, tanks, skirts, and pretty much any other form of clothing you'd normally find in a store. Every few seconds Brooke would throw over another skirt or top with a "Here, try this on!" or "Hey! This would look great on you!" It's enough to make a girl want to shoot herself. At least, it's how I'm feeling right about now.

_A few hours later_

Well finally, after a couple thousand stores, with a quick Starbucks break in between, we're finally ready to leave the mall. Peyton and I are both struggling with our bags, while Brooke can barely lift hers up. Eyeing a few teenage boys that walk by, she gets an idea.

"Oh boys!" She calls.

_Oh no._

"Our bags are too heavy for us to lift, would you help us please?" She asks sweetly, batting her eyelashes at a tall blonde.

Most of the boys walk away, while two of them stop for a minute to help us out.

"Thank you so much!" Brooke says, laying it on pretty thick.

One of the boys looks up and gives her a smile; she winks in response. Peyton and I exchange looks. Leave it to Brooke to pick up a boy in the middle of the mall parking lot.

By now the slaves have finished with their chore, so Peyton and I climb into the car, while Brooke continues to chat it up with the tall blonde. I roll my eyes and put the key into the ignition. Turning on the cd player, Gym Class Heroes quickly fills the car.

_We have to take our clothes off  
We have to party all night  
And we have to take our clothes off  
To have a good time_

Five songs later, Brooke is still talking to the blonde. The sky is beginning to get dark as I feel my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. Taking it out, I see that Nathan has texted me.

"hey. Where u at?"

Quickly I text him back. "Mall still. B met a boy." This process between us continues for a few minutes.

"c u in a few hours then? lol"

"I hope. Where ru?"

"Ur house."

"already?"

"yah. Rach let me in."

"cant believe she got home b4 me"

"dude, ur w. Brooke."

"tru."

"hurry back. Bevin and Theresa r comin over."

"Great." I text sarcastically. O b's coming, cu soon."

Brooke enters the car with a huge smile on her face.

"Someone looks happy." Peyton notes from the backseat.

"Someone just got a date for Haley's party." She smiles.

"Brooke, why do you insist on bringing a date to every party? Lord knows you're just gonna end up with someone completely different than the person you brought." I say in a half-kidding tone.

"Hales, my dear, you've got a lot to learn. Guys love it when you're not available. It makes it a bigger challenge. Besides, if there aren't any cute guys, I always have a backup to take home."

"Brooke honey." Peyton laughs. "It's never a challenge for you."

Brooke sticks her tongue out at her in the rearview mirror. Peyton reciprocates.

"My, my, my. How mature we are." I kid, only to have the both of them stick their tongues out at me.

_Later on… _

I walk into my house after Brooke drops me off. Immediately I hear the laughter of three highly annoying girls coming from the den. I walk in to see Rachel, Bevin, and Theresa, all sprawled out across the floor, laughing their asses off. 

"Hey guys. Where's Nathan?" I ask, trying to ignore the fact that Theresa has just sent me an extremely dirty look, as if to say I'm not welcome in here, my own house, go figure. I roll my eyes. It's no surprise that Theresa likes Nathan. She's been obsessing over him ever since like the ninth grade. She, along with virtually every other clueless blonde in our high school, is jealous over how close Nathan and I are. Turning my head, I look at Rachel. "You didn't scare him off, did you?"

"Nah. He's upstairs. I think he got a little freaked out when we started talking about how Bev's on her rag." She says, which starts a whole new fit of laughter.

"Thanks." I send her a smile, ignoring the other two girls. Turning around, I go to leave the room when Theresa speaks. "No problem, _Scaley_." She says so that it rhymes with my name. I roll my eyes yet again, and actually leave the room. _Petty much?_

I walk up the stairs laughing at the fact that Rach thinks Nathan would be scared of Bevin's period. God knows how many times I've talked to him about mine. Nathan's like the perfect guy when it comes to being on your rag. One time he brought me chocolate ice cream and A Walk To Remember. Like I said, perfect. Besides, he was probably just afraid of Theresa. That girl can be wicked scary sometimes.

I open the door to my bedroom, to see Nathan lying on the bed, watching a basketball game on TV. Walking in, I see him glance over quickly and breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank God." He says exasperated.

"It couldn't have been that bad." I joke, collapsing on the bed next to him.

"She kept looking at me. Then she started to like, lick her lips. I think she tried to wink at me, but it just looked like she had an awful twitch or something." He says, causing me to laugh.

"God Hales. I never thought you'd show up, Theresa is fucking scary."

_What'd I tell ya? 'Period scares' my ass._

"All better now?" I joke, settling in closer to him.

"Much."

"Good."

He nods. "So what'd you buy with Brooke and Peyt?"

I groan and bury my head into his shoulder. "The easier question would be what didn't I buy? I swear Brooke had me try on half the clothes in the mall." I lean over him to grasp the bags on the other side of the bed, my hand accidentally brushing against the muscles underneath his shirt, but I don't think Nathan notices.

Pulling the bags up, I begin to pull out the merchandise. From camis to skirts to belts, I've got it all. Nathan quickly glances at the piles on the bed. Reaching into one pile, he pulls out a gray halter with a black ribbon that wraps around under the chest. Reaching into the other pile, he pulls out a short denim skirt. "Wear this outfit for the party."

"That's weird. This is what Brooke picked too."

"She's got good taste." He says smirking.

"Yeah; in sluts. No wonder you like that outfit." I tease.

He smirks. "That too, plus you've got really awesome legs." He says as one of his hands teasingly grasps the back of my thigh, causing me to jump.

"Nathan! Stop! You know I'm insanely ticklish!" I shriek, pulling his hand away from my thigh, which is noticeably colder now that his hand is gone.

"That I do." He agrees, his infamous smirk once again placed on his handsome features.

With that being said, he rolls me over so that he's kneeling on top of me again. He's just about to tickle me when his eyes focus on something next to the bed.

_Oh shit._

"Wait. I think you forgot a bag Hales."

"Uhh, no I didn't. That's old." I say, but not very convincingly on my part. Nathan doesn't believe me, and in seconds he's smirking as his eyes glimmer in a mischievous fashion. "What's in the bag Haley?"

"Um. It's just trash, ya know, from Brooke's car." I lie.

He's clearly not buying it. Not that I would either, Brooke never cleans out her car.

His eyes gaze heavier into mine, his stare unwavering. "Fine." I say defeated. "It's your birthday present." I say.

"My birthday isn't for another five months Hales. I know you like to be prepared and all, but that's extreme, even for you." Nathan says and his smirk grows even bigger.

_Fuck._ I was hoping he'd believe that one.

"It's really nothing Nate." I say, my breathing getting slightly deeper, due to the fact that his body is still on top of mine, this close proximity making my stomach get butterflies and my head get a little punch-drunk dizzy.

"Oh really? So what's with the heavy breathing? Is it because you've got something to hide?" He asks, clearly enjoying watching me squirm.

Damn this boy doesn't miss a thing.

"Maybe it's because you're fat ass is still on top of me." I kid.

"Touché James. Granted, you know I have to get you back for that now, right?" He asks, placing his hands around my waist.

I nod my head, biting my lower lip, nut my eyes watch him animatedly, waiting for his next move, which definitely surprises me. Instead of tickling me, he removes one hand and reaches over the bed to grab the bag. Reaching inside of it, he pulls out a couple lacy thongs and bras that I'd bought today. He slowly picks up a black thong, his fingers playing with it in his hands.

"Hales, damn. I didn't think you were serious when you said you got me a birthday present." He smirks.

"I didn't know your size." I joke, but my comment unfazes him as he continues to rummage through my underwear.

"Nice taste." He says, holding up a pair of light blue v-string panties. "So how come you never model these types of clothes for me?" He asks, his gaze momentarily eyeing a red bra before shifting back towards my eyes.

"Don't you think people talk about us enough at school without me modeling underwear for you?" I ask, biting my lip again, my eyes looking at him in a serious manner.

"Point taken. But you could at least sleep in stuff like this," He says while toying with a lacy orange pair of boyshorts, his eyebrow raised suggestively.

"Yeah right. I'd be freezing." I say, completely serious. It's true, my house is really frigid, especially with the air conditioners in the summer, and well that and the fact I'm chronically freezing to begin with.

"But that's why I'm here to warm you up." He smirks playfully, as one of his hands continues to hold onto the side of my stomach.

_This boy is driving me wild._

"Well besides, I don't want to be a distraction to your sleep." I tease.

"What if you already are? Then it makes no difference, right?" He asks, his blue eyes darkening slightly, but he continues to smirk.

"Hmm. Now that's a problem. I guess you'll just have to deal with the slight distraction of me like you do now Nathan. I'd really hate to add to it" Now it's my turn to smirk.

"I don't think I'd mind." He whispers seductively, his eyes still teasing me slightly.

My eyes stare into his, his smirk matching my own. Then suddenly, he rolls off of me, and walks to the bathroom. "Yeah, it's probably a good thing you don't sleep in clothes like that." He says. "Your water bill would increase drastically." He winks and shuts the door to the bathroom, where I lean my head back against the pillow. _What the hell was that?_

Were Nathan and I flirting with eachother? I mean, we'd always tease eachother about stuff like this, but it's never gotten this intense, or whatever the hell you want to call it, before.

This is driving me nuts. I know I like Nathan, hell, I know I love Nathan, and not in the brother-sister sense that I've always talked about. And god knows how damn hot that boy is, he's impossible not to lust after. Rubbing my eyes, I don't know why I'm so tired all of the sudden. Glancing over at the clock, it reads 11:40. When the hell did it get so late? I got home at 10:30. Nathan and I couldn't have been doing, whatever the hell it was that we were doing, for almost an hour.

I push the clothes off my bed and begin to change into a t-shirt and shorts. It feels so nice to just chill and now feel like a whore anymore. I pull my shirt over my head as Nathan walks out of the bathroom. "Damn. I missed it." He smirks, eyeing the fact that I had already changed into other clothes, and I walk over to the bed.

Climbing under the covers, I realize the TV is still on. I'd been so caught up in Nathan and whatever that I hadn't realized the basketball game was still playing. Nathan pulled off his shirt and jeans and climbed into the bed next to me.

"Who's playing?" I ask.

"Duke and UNC. It's the playoffs, fourth quarter, and they're neck-in-neck." He adds.

"Sweet." I say as I turn on my side to sleep.

"Want me to turn this off?"

"No, it's fine. Watch the game." I answer honestly. Nathan settles in more comfortably, then quietly whispers, "You know, you could've just said that was Brooke's bag. No further questions asked." I can feel him smirk, almost as much as i can myself blush.

Silence for a few more moments as he watches the game. "This isn;t fair." He says. "If I have to sleep in my underwear all the time, you should have to too." Even with my eyes closed, I can tell he's still got that cocky smirk on his face.

"You don't have to, you do it by choice."

"Yours could be by choice too." He counters.

I roll over to face him. "Someday." I grin.

"Promise?" He smirks.

"On my life." I smile.

"Better be soon."

"It could be." I smirk.

The announcer on the TV says, "With forty-seconds left in the game, Duke is down by two points! J. J. Redick has the ball, he shoots, and he scores!" Just as Nathan turns off the TV, I look up at him. "There's still time left in the game."

"I know."

"And?"

"It doesn't matter." He says, as he wraps his arm around me. I lean in comfortably, my ankle somehow intertwining with his. I'm almost asleep when I thought comes to my mind, and I sit up.

"You know this is the third night in a row you've stayed here."

"And?" He says as he joins me in sitting up.

"Aren't your parents worried if you aren't home?"

He looks down at me. "Nah. They're too busy arguing. Besides, I am home." He smiles as I move my arms to hug him.

After a few more moments of silence, he says, "You don't mind, do you?"

I pull my head back. "Mind what?"

"The fact that I've stayed at your house the past three nights."

"Nah. It feels like home to me too." I smile, and he leans down to kiss me on the cheek.

"I love you Nathan."

"I love you Haley." He says, and I lay down to relax again when I hear him say,

"And your size 36 B boobs too."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

"Brooke" I call lazily while perusing an ELLE magazine as I lay comfortably on her bed. "Almost ready? The party started forty-five minutes ago."

"Almost Hales!" I hear through the closed bathroom door. I'd been ready for a half hour, but knowing Brooke she's always late. I'd decided to get ready at Brooke's house, and let Rachel deal with all the technical details of the party.

I'm in the middle of an article that's comparing polka dots and stripes when Brooke finally emerges from the bathroom, dressed to kill in a red top and a short denim skirt. She's got red high heels on which only brings her up to about 5'5". Oh well, she's taller than me at least.

We examine ourselves in the mirror. I'm wearing the same outfit that Brooke and Nathan had both 'chosen'. My hair is up in a sleek high ponytail with my bangs framing my face in a very high-fashion way. Brooke's raven-dark locks are relaxed and wavy tonight, glamorous.

She turns and looks at me. "Tutorgirl, are you ready?" And we both know she's referring to much more than this party.

_Flashback:_

Brooke and I were at the supermarket picking up some food for the party. Rachel had sent us on a few last minute errands after Bevin had shown up at the house with one case of beer. One case of beer to satisfy a multitude of teenagers; needless to say, a case would last less than five minutes at one of our parties.

I lift another case out of the freezer and put it in the cart. "Brooke, are you sure we'll be able to buy this?" I ask worriedly, an entire cart filled with beer.

"_Of course. I used to date one of the cashiers. Date as in 'hook up with occasionally.' Nick's totally cool about this sort of thing." She says as she throws in a few bags of chips._

"_Sweet. So all of this, and I think Nathan and Lucas are picking up a couple kegs. Think we'll have enough?" I ask, examining our carts._

"_Yeah. But we'll stop at the liquor store anyway."_

"_Well that's a given." I wink._

"_So speaking of the adorable Scott brothers, I think I'm finally gonna tell Lucas about my feelings for him tonight." Brooke says excitedly. _

"_Really?" I ask. This is a major step for her._

"_Yeah. I'm tired of bullshitting all this stuff with him. I want to be with him. He's the one for me…I know it." She says dreamily. _

"_You go B. Davis." I say enthusiastically._

"_So what about you?"_

"_What about me?"_

"_Are you ever gonna tell Nathan?"_

_I think for a moment. "Actually, I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and honestly, I think I'm ready." I say, with a sheepish grin on my face._

"_Oh my god!!! Ay dios mio!" Brooke shrieks. I stifle a laugh. When Brooke is excited, she screams in Spanish. This is quite entertaining actually, considering she doesn't hold an ounce of Spanish blood to her name. _

"_Tutorgirl, this is huge news! Even bigger than mine! You and Nathan are like, written in the stars! What are you going to say? When are you going to tell him? Oh my goodness that outfit is perfect for tonight!" She exclaims in one very excited breath. _

"_Slow down!" I say. _

"_We can't! Your life is going to change forever in just a few short hours! Now answer the fucking questions!"_

"_Uh…well, I'm thinking I might just kiss him. Ya know, not really say anything. Just sorta, do it. Tonight."_

_"__Oh my god! This is awesome!"_

_I smile. "Of course, I'm going to get super drunk first so if anything bad does happen, I can just blame it on the alcohol." I grin. _

_"Thatta girl."_

_End of Flashback_

I can't go back on my word now. No matter what happens, by the end of the night, I'm going to kiss Nathan Scott.

_A few hours later_

The party is in full swing and I'm chatting it up with a few of my friends from school that I haven't seen in a few weeks. Suddenly I feel an arm wrap around my shoulder, and I glance up to see Nathan."

"Hey. Haven't seen you all night." He says.

I wonder why. Seeing him means I'm going to have to kiss him. And god knows there isn't enough alcohol in my system for that yet.

"Yeah, I've been talking to a lot of people."

"Enough talking. I think Rach is setting up a game of 'I never'. Come play." He says, lightly pulling me away from my previous company.

"Because these things always end well." I say sarcastically, but sit down at the table nonetheless.

"Okay everybody." Rachel says. "I Never. You all should know how to play, but this time, there's going to be a twist. Random truth or dares can now be added into play. The more random, the better." She smirks.

I quickly glance around the medium-sized table. It's the usual gang; Nathan, Lucas, Brooke, Mouth, Peyton, Rachel, Bevin, Theresa, Jake, Skillz, and Nathan's dimwitted best friend Tim.

"I'll go first." Peyton says. "I've never Brooked myself in a public place."

Rachel, Brooke, and Tim all drink, while Brooke rolls her eyes at the clever name we'd given the term after walking in on her doing it in freshman year.

"Tim, do you even know what that means?" Nathan asks, and Tim shakes his head.

"Nah, but I want to get hella crunked up dawg." He replies.

Skillz groans. "Yo man, you aint black. That's hella fucked up man." But he's laughing, undoubtedly at Tim, who doesn't get that the laughter's aimed at him.

"Okay. My turn. I've never been paid to sleep with somebody." Jake says.

Nathan, Me, Lucas, and Theresa all take a drink. Nathan sends me a questioning look; he obviously doesn't know that story. Theresa catches this and glares at me across the table.

Bevin speaks up. "Theresa, truth or dare?"

Without batting an eye, or switching her determined gaze from mine, she picks dare.

"Kiss Nathan."

Theresa smirks and sends a quick glance towards Rachel, who winks in response. So this is what the random truth or dare is for; so Theresa can hook up with Nathan without really making it seem like she'd pick it. Ingenious, I admit, but also quite pathetic.

This coming from the girl who is too afraid to even vocalize her feelings for him.

That was the old Haley; the new Haley is going to kiss him tonight, without being pathetically dared to do so. I'll keep my honor, even if I have to be drunk to do so.

Theresa moves up from her chair across the table, and for a second I see fear fleet across Nathan's handsome features.

Theresa sits down on his lap, her legs on either side of him, she wraps her hands around her neck and dives in for the kill. Her lips meet his hungrily, but Nathan remains pretty stoic. He kisses her back, but not with nearly as much as emotion in him as her.

Brooke sends me a caring glance across the table. I send her a look; hopefully she gets the point that I'm totally fine with this situation. Nathan is terrified of that whore. Luckily, she understands and smiles.

Finally they break apart and the game resumes. A few turns later, I feel a gaze on me. Glancing around the table, my eyes land on Bevin. She smiles maliciously.

"Haley, truth or dare?"

I look her in the eye. No way am I afraid of this bimbo-ed bitch.

"Dare."

"Give Tim a lap dance."

A few seats to the right of me I can hear Tim 'woohoo!' and I see Bevin and Therese give eachother high fives under the table.

Pushing my chair back, I look pointedly at Theresa. "Fine."

Turning towards Tim, I say, "Keep your hands to yourself or I will chop of your balls and make you eat them off a platter." Tim looks scared, but once I start giving him a lap dance, gyrating my hips side to side, he begins to grin like a five year old at Christmas.

After a few seconds I can hear catcalls from Skillz and Jake, which causes Time to grin even more. Lucas begins to fake-howl like a wolf at the moon, and everyone begins to laugh. Taking it as my time to stop, I climb off Tim, and resume my seat next to Nathan.

"Slut." I hear Theresa whisper in a pissed off tone, and roll my eyes. I have no idea why the fuck she's mad, she dared me to do it.

Many turns later I begin to feel more than a buzz. The game has just about ended, and Brooke scratches her eyebrow, which is code for Peyton, her, and me for whenever we need to talk in private.

We get up from the table and head into the den, locking the wooden doors behind us.

"Guys! I'm about to make my move on Lucas!" Brooke says. "Thank you so much for not daring me to kiss him like Theresa did. How pathetic was that?" She asks. Peyton and I nod in agreement.

"Hales, what was with that lap dance?" Peyton asks, sending a smirk my way.

"It was a dare! I couldn't let that whore beat me down. And it was just Tim!" I try to justify.

"Not what I was talking about." She says. "I meant Nathan, he didn't take his eyes off you once. I don't think he even blinked." She says.

"And Theresa definitely noticed. She was so peeved when you stopped. Her plan totally backfired! It was awesome!" Brooke adds happily.

"Guys, you've had too much to drink." I say, though I'm happy-dancing on the inside as a result of this piece of news.

"Maybe so, but you two are perfect!" Brooke says, opening the door. "Now go get your man Tutorgirl!"

I walk out the door and eventually into the living room. I can't really see too many people I recognize, pretty ironic considering this is my party. Suddenly Mouth appears beside me.

"Man I am soooooooo wasted." He croons.

"Hi mouth. What number are you on?" I ask.

"Ummm…this manyyyy." He says, holding up three fingers. "Or was it this many?" He asks, holding up four. He looks at me and shrugs, and then bursts out laughing. "I gotta go to the bathroom." He says, continuing to laugh, and walks away, opening the door to the front hall closet and going inside.

My eyes continue to scour the room until I feel a hand grab my ass and I jump. "What the fuck?" I ask, turning around to see Nathan. "Holy shit Nathan. I had no idea that was you!" I say.

"I'm sorry." He says drunkenly, "Forgive me?" He asks. Holding up a plastic cup he says, "I brought you a drink."

"In that case, how can I say no?" I ask, and move my hand to grab it from him. He pulls his hand back. I give him a confused look.

"Hug first."

I smile and move in to hug him, but somehow his free hand accidentally grabs my boob. Instinctively I shiver.

"Shit, I'm sorry Hales."

"It's okay, they're so big I'm not sure how you could miss them." I joke, as he hands me my drink. I look at it curiously.

"It's a mix. Trust me it's fucking amazing." He says, and I accept the drink eagerly. I down it in seconds, only to receive a look from Nathan. "Are you worried about something?" He asks.

"No…why?"

"You never drink that much that fast."

"Oh…I've never noticed." I say awkwardly, and we're silent for a few moments. His arm is wrapped around my waist, and I can feel Theresa's jealous glare on me.

Giving into petty drama, I grab Nathan's hand and lead him across the living room floor, much to Theresa's displeasure.

"What are you doing?" He asks while laughing.

"_We're_ dancing." I slur with a smile on my face.

"Okay." He smiles, and slowly moves his hands to my waist as I grind into him. Timbaland's 'Give It To Me' radiates off the speakers as we move together.

_if you see us in the club we'll be acting real nice_

_if you see us on the floor you'll be watchin all night_

_we ain't here to hurt nobody_

_so give it to me give it to me give it to me_

_wanna see you work your body_

_so give it to me give it to me give it to me_

For a few moments it feels like no one else is in the room. Just the two of us. I move my hands on top of his and sway against him to the music.

"You look hot tonight Hales." He whispers quietly in my ear, and I turn around to face him, still dancing.

"Thanks Nathan. Though I did have some advice." I smirk.

H nods his head, and then dips it lower so he's whispering into my ear. "And that lap dance you gave Tim, _damn_." His words reverberated in my head. So he really did pay that much attention? I pull myself closer to him, inhaling the scent of his cologne. I wrap my arms around his neck and dance up against him even more, which he reciprocates to immediately.

"You look hot tonight Nate." I smile. And he does. He's wearing a black polo with a light blue t-shirt underneath, and dark blue jeans. His hair is a little spiked, one of my favorite ways he wears it.

His head lowers and softly kisses my cheek.

_Am I imagining things or did it linger there?_

We continue to dance for a few more songs, completely losing track of the time, and I sigh contently. "Are you okay?" He asks.

"Mmhmm." I reply. "Just tired."

"We should get you up to bed." He says.

"Nah. I'm fine. Besides, the party is still going on." It's then we both realize that a lot of the people have already left, although a few people are still hanging around.

"Maybe I will go to bed." I say, and Nathan kisses me on the cheek. Well partly on the cheek. He missed a little and hit part of my lips.

_Seriously, how drunk are we?_

"I should be up soon." I nod my head, then turn around and stumble up the stairs. On one particularly brutal step, I almost fall to the floor, only to feel his strong arms holding onto me.

"Geez Hales, how much did you drink?" Nathan asks, although it's sort of hypocritical considering he's as drunk as I am. I shrug in response and he leads me up the stairs into my room. I immediately collapse on my bed.

_Damn this alcohol hit me hard. I was fine twenty minutes ago_.

Without too much concern I can feel Nathan undressing me. I slide the shirt over my head, and totally forget that I'm just in a bra and skirt. I pull myself under the covers, already half-asleep.

"I'll be right back." He slurs, "My cell is downstairs." And he walks out of my room only wearing a pair of basketball shorts he'd changed into. I see his shirts lying on the floor, next to his crumbled jeans.

I fall asleep within minutes, before Nathan returns to my room.

_The next morning_

My first thought waking up this morning:

_I didn't kiss Nathan._

Second thought:

_Holy mother of a killer hangover._

Third thought:

_What time is it?_

And the fourth one, just for kicks:

_Damn, I really need to pee._

I stumble out of bed, immediately shielding my eyes from the bright light emitted through the window. Nathan's clothes are still in a pile on the floor. I smile to myself, he probably fell asleep on the stairs…it wouldn't be the first time he was to drunk to come to my room.

I open the door and head down to the living room. No one else seems to be up. All around me are various teenagers passed out in all parts of the room. Still not fully awake, I walk into the kitchen and see a note tacked to the refrigerator from Rachel.

_Hales,_

_Went for a morning run…left you some Mt. Dew and Tylenol. Don't worry about the stragglers or the mess…I owe you one!_

_Love, Rach_

I grab a mountain dew and some aspirin, fully prepared to tackle the world's worst hangover. After one sip of the soda, I remember that I still have to pee, and aimlessly wander back upstairs to the bathroom.

When I'm actually in the bathroom I realize I've been wandering around in a bra and skirt.

_Thank god no one else is awake._

I open the door to the bathroom, and head back in the direction of my bedroom so I can get a few more hours of shut-eye, until I hear movement coming from around the corner. Figuring it's just some random stranger lost in this huge house, I turn the corner to greet them. Bad idea. If this moment were a scene in a movie, everybody would be screaming at the screen saying things like, "Don't do it!" or "Foolish girl! Don't leave the safe area!" But unfortunately this isn't a movie, and had my hangover not been my first priority, I would've had thought better of the warning signs.

"Nathan?"

Standing outside Rachel's doorway, I see a very tired and confused Nathan Scott…wearing only boxers.


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright...i'm sure plenty of you guys hate me right now, for not updating in almsot a month, and for future chapters...keep in mind that this is a Naley, so that nasty Rathan won't last forever...anyway, i'm still totally dedicated to this story, but i had the biggest case of writers block ever...which is why this chap isn't nearly as long as the others...if you guys want, you can even leave suggestions. Hopefully i still have readers!!!  
**

Chapter 8

"_Nathan?" _

_Standing outside Rachel's doorway, I see a very tired and confused Nathan Scott…wearing only boxers._

"Haley? Woah." He says light-headedly and moves his right hand up to his forehead, though I have a feeling the headache is only beginning.

_A few minutes earlier_

With closed eyes, Nathan casually moved his arm across the bed, searching for comfort and upon not finding it, he groaned. "Haley." He subconsciously whispered; as if saying her name would make her appear. Finally deciding to open his eyes, he did so, then quickly shut them tight again, the hangover already setting in.

"Ahh. Too damn bright." He complained, and then slightly opened one eye.

"What the hell?" He wasn't in Haley's room. As a matter of fact, he wasn't sure which room he was in, but it definitely wasn't hers. The walls were adorned with pictures of models and fashion icons, compared to Haley's, which consisted of music bands and cities in Europe.

His eyes wandered to a picture frame, which had a picture of Bevin and Theresa inside. "Dear God. Did I hook up with Theresa?!" He wondered, slightly panicked. The details of last night were pretty shady; the only reason Nathan knew he'd gotten some was because he felt completely relaxed right now, which normally happened. "How drunk was I?" He rubbed his head, trying to remember details of last night, but failed miserably. Realizing he was only in his boxers, he quickly spotted his basketball shorts on the floor nearby.

As Nathan got out of bed to pick them up, someone walked into the room. "Hey baby." The voice purred. "Ready for Round 2?"

He whipped his head around; Rachel was leaning on the doorframe, arms folded across her chest, smirking slightly. Her hair was down, and she was wearing a white tank top and a pair of small black shorts. Her smirk grew wider when she noticed Nathan was checking her out. "Like what you see?"

Nathan averted his eyes. "Uhhh…yeah…where's Haley?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Probably in her room, sleeping. It's only like six o' clock."

"Then what are you doing up?"

"I'm going for a run. You know, burn off all those calories from the beer last night. Though, you might've done it for me during the after-party." She winked at him, and she crossed the room to sit in her computer chair.

"So we definitely, ya know..." He began.

"Had sex? Got it on? Did it like they do it on the discovery channel? Take your pick, I'm pretty sure we did them all." Rachel's smirk grew wider.

"Whoa." He said, rubbing his forehead. "How the hell did that happen?" He asked grinning. He knew Rachel well enough to know that she'd see the humor in this situation too.

"No idea." She smiled back. "You came downstairs all drunk looking for something, I think." Next thing I know, I wake up next to a naked Nathan Scott. Let me tell ya, those rumors I've heard, are definitely not just rumors." She said, while Nathan half-smirked, half-blushed.

After a few moments of silence, Rachel stood up. "Anyway, I'm going for a run. I left a note but I'm not sure if Haley will be up to check it, so tell her when you see her." She walked out of the room, and Nathan got a sudden flashback of red hair waving in his face. Soon other memories of last night flooded him, and he sank back into Rachel's bed to enjoy every moment of what he thought he didn't remember.

After awhile, Nathan thought he heard someone stirring around the house. He moved and silently opened the door, and turning around he closed it behind him. "Nathan?" Haley's voice was just as confused as he was, and he already _knew_ the situation.

"Haley." He smiled.

Back to Haley's POV 

"What are you doing?" I ask him; he doesn't seem as dazed as he was a minute ago.

"Uhh…Rachel and I kinda hooked up last night."

The words hit me like a punch in the gut, my only hope is that he didn't notice. Well, that, and hopefully he's lying.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Uhhh…not exactly."

"Wha-? How?"

"Errr…I'm not exactly sure." He looks at me with guilt in his eyes, along with another emotion that I can't decipher.

Flashback 

_Nathan wandered down the stairs, idling searching for his phone. He had no idea where he might've left it; all he knew is that he'd left it on silent, so any chance of hearing it was out the window._

"_God damn-" He slurred as he stumbled over some random guy's body. He was tired, all he wanted to do was go back up to Haley's room and sleep._

_He walked into the kitchen, remembering checking his messages in there from earlier. He half expected his dad to call and randomly chew his ass out for basketball; part of the reason Nathan almost always left his cell on silent._

_A few people were still partying it up, playing beer pong with the few traces of beer that happened to be left. Rachel was in the center of it all, more drunk than Nathan could ever remember seeing her. She threw the ping-pong ball and missed by a long shot, as the opposing team threw a straight shot to a corner cup._

"_Fuck. I'm so bad at this." Rachel pouted, which turned into a giggle in a matter of seconds. She lifted the cup and downed the contents, afterwards shaking her head like she was starring in an Herbal Essences commercial._

_Her drunken eyes caught Nathan's glazed ones. "Hey, Nathan!" She screamed, though he was only a few feet away. "You're the king at this! Will you do me a favor, and come help me out? I want to win at least once in this lifetime." She asked him flirtatiously. _

_Grinning, he walked over to her. "Rach, it's beer pong. Whether you win or lose, you always win." She smiled in response, and handed him the small plastic ball. He took it willingly, and tried to focus on the cups across the table. The opposing team had six cups compared to Rachel's two. _

_Carefully, he brought his arm up and threw the ball; it swiftly landed in a plastic cup. The guy at the end of the table smirked and downed the drink. "Yay Nathan!" Rachel cheered next to him. _

_They guy threw the ball, missing by a long shot. Nathan grabbed the ball, and managed to make another shot. Shot after shot the guy at the other end managed to become more wasted, as Rachel began to cheer louder. "It's like alcoholic basketball." She giggled, as if it were the funniest thing in the world. Nathan laughed along with her, it always amazed him how he played beer pong better when he was drunk, rather than sober. _

_Finally the opposing team got another shot in. Rachel grabbed the cup and began to drink. About halfway through Nathan took the cup from her. "Now, now, don't hog it all." He teased. "I worked hard for my alcohol." He drank the rest of the contents and tossed it aside. _

_Finally it was down to one cup each. The guy threw the ball; it bounced off the rim and rolled away across the floor. Nathan had long since put his arm around Rachel's waist, as she leaned into him, one arm resting on his shoulder, the other placed on top of his bare chest, idling running her fingers across it. Both were too drunk to realize what they were even doing, let alone care. Nathan held the ball, in position to throw it, when Rachel stopped him._

"_Wait." She said, and Nathan glanced down. _

"_What's up?" He asked._

"_Good Luck, I tend to bring it." She smiled, and leaned up to kiss him on his cheek. _

_She moved her head back down to rest on his chest, when he stopped her, placing his lips against hers in a soft kiss. She leaned up into it more, and then pulled away. _

"_We've got a game to win." She gave him a smirk, and he returned it._

_Finally resting her head on him, he returned to the game. It was the final shot, and Nathan was feeling pretty cocky. He didn't aim for the cup at all, instead he tossed it straight to they guy's chest, where it bounced off and landed inside of the cup. The guy looked up in awe. "Is that even legal?"_

"_Hell yeah it is." Said a random spectator. _

_Rachel leaned up and hugged Nathan around the neck, then slowly brought her lips to his again. He reciprocated and slowly moved his arms to wrap around her waist. Slowly they headed upstairs._

End Flashback


	9. Chapter 9

**Omygosh u guys! Thanks so much for the reviews; it definitely gave me a spark of motivation!!! I'm so glad you guys are still reading, let alone liking this story! Don't be afraid to leave your opinions, or like, whatever you'd like to see happen. I love reading your thoughts and predictions! And P.S., Summer More ud's!**

**Chapter 9**

I stared at him with blank eyes; at least, I hope they could be conveyed as empty compared to what I'm really feeling. Inside, my intestines were wrapping around various organs, squeezing and twisting until I feel like I'm going to be sick.

"That's not all." Nathan spoke up.

What did he mean that wasn't all? I wondered confused. My head was already spinning enough. Suddenly feeling quite weak, I lean up against the wall, and brush my hair out of my eyes. "Go on." I say, trying to keep my voice even and calm, hoping he won't notice, but at the same time, hoping he does.

He doesn't.

"Maybe we should go somewhere more private, I don't want to be overheard." He says, taking my hand, and leading me back into my room. I tried as hard I can to fight off the tingling sensation I felt when he grabbed my arm, but it is useless. I'm in way too deep.

I sit down on my bed, and he took his spot right next to me.

"I…" Nathan begins. I say nothing; instead just wait for him to speak. "I think I like her."

Talk about a punch to the gut. Now I actually feel like I'm going to be sick…and soon.

"Hold on a minute." I say while holding up one finger, and quickly dodge into the bathroom, where I proceed to throw up what feels like my entire internal system.

Ignoring the closed bathroom door, Nathan walks in. "Hales, are you okay?" I mumble a few words, hoping he'll get the point. "Gimme a min-" I try to say before my head is once again in the toilet, throwing up anything and everything.

He stoops down next to me, his hand running up and down my back, which normally would've been quite comforting, but today all I could think about was this same hand running up and down Rachel's body, and…

A whole new wave of nausea overcame me, making me wonder if I'd ever stop being sick. I have a feeling that eventually the throwing up will cease, but the overall ache and feeling of sickness will remain.

Have I mentioned this sucks? More so than Rachel?

I take a few deep breaths, and begin to feel a little bit better. Standing up, I clean myself off and flush the toilet. I brush my teeth, taking notice that Nathan is still staring at me.

"Geez. Talk about a bad hangover Hales."

"Tell me about it." I say through a mouthful of minty foam; no wonder he likes Rachel.

"At least it's pretty much over." He says optimistically.

"Yeah." Though I have a feeling, it's only started.

Finally finishing my teeth, which I tried to drag on as long as possible, we returned to my room. I collapse on my bed, exhausted. And this has only just begun. Moments later, I feel the other side of the bed sink in, signaling the time for us to talk.

"So…you think you like her?" I ask.

"Yeah. Do you not think I do?" He turns his head towards me, slightly confused.

"Honestly Nathan, yeah. I mean, how many random hook-ups have you had in your life? And out of those hook-ups, how often did you care about the girl afterwards?"

"I don't know Hales, but it's different this time."

"How so? How can you like someone just by hooking up with them?"

"I don't know, but I do."

We sit in silence for a moment. A half hour ago he _thought _he liked Rachel, and now he's certain. This sucks.

"Do you think I should ask her out?"

What can I say? Inside I'm screaming 'NO!' a thousand times over, but I'm his best friend, and he's mine. I can't let my own selfish pride get in the way of his happiness. Plus, even if he likes her, she may not reciprocate his feelings. Rachel is known for many a one-night stand too. I just can't believe how much this hurts to hear.

"Yeah. If you like her Nate, go for it. Though, you don't really need my permission." I say with a small forced smile. A lump is starting to form in my throat, and I'm trying so hard to ignore it.

Nathan's face breaks into a smile. "Thanks Hales, but it's still good to know my best friend's perspective. Especially since she is your sister."

Best Friends. I'm really starting to hate that phrase.

"Step-sister Nathan. We aren't family. Not in that since anyway." My jaw is beginning to hurt from forcing this stupid supportive smile.

Nathan leans in to hug me, and I hesitate a little, which he doesn't notice. He wraps his arm around me, and I can't help but to lean into his comfortable embrace. He feels too damn good, and by now the lump in my throat is not only beginning to grow, but also threatening to cause some major damage if I let a few tears fall.

"Alright Hales, I'm gonna go, but I'll be back later." He says, looking at me. "Just ya know, sleep out the rest of the hangover or whatever." He kisses my cheek and stands up to leave. "Need anything?"

_Yeah, I need you to suddenly start laughing, telling me how I'm being Punk'd, and that last night was just a joke, he and Rachel never slept together, and in reality you actually hate her. Just tell me that, and everything can go back to normal._ Maybe I should speak now, instead of just staring at him like an idiot while formulating unrealistic ideas in my head. "No, I'm fine."

"Okay." He smiles. "I'll see you later then, Hales." And with that he leaves, almost as impersonal as if we were acquaintances, not best friends. Things were beginning to change, and nothing had even happened yet.

Well, nothing except for Nathan and Rachel hooking up.

And with this thought in mind, I collapse back onto my bed, the tears still refusing to fall.

_Hours later…_

Rachel barges into my room as I'm watching Fight Club and eating a slice of cold pizza. "Whoa, this is a change." She says. "What's with the movie? No romantic comedy?" She jokes. "Now, don't tell me Nathan's in the closet. He's never hidden before."

"He's never slept with something as scary or skanky as you before either." I joke back, but there's a slight bitterness in my words that she doesn't detect. I hate the fact that when she said his name, she said it in a softer tone that she's ever used before. "Besides, I think Fight Club is sorta romantic." I argue.

"In what sense is a psychotic guy at war with himself romantic? Unless he jerks off to his other personality, but I didn't know you were into that sorta stuff, Hales. Is there something you want to tell me?"

_Yeah. Fuck you, and stay away from Nathan._ "When are two hot guys beating the shit out of eachother _not_ romantic?" Besides, it's the whole twisted triangle with Marla, and how one personality loves her, while the other despises her. What could be better than that?"

"Hmm…Sex." Rachel winks. "Which by the way, did Nathan tell you what happened?" She asked, excitedly, yet at the same time carefully. _Duh, I brought it up minutes ago, of course I remember._

"Yeah…I think I remember him saying he got laid, but it really wasn't that great. He couldn't remember anything about the chick except for her fat ass." I say, my eyes glued to the TV as I take another bite of pizza.

"Funny. You should be a comedian." She teases.

"Hilarious. You should be on a diet." I say, and two seconds later, a pillow hits my face. "Whore." She teases, a smirk on her face, I merely laugh in response, almost forgetting about the situation from last night.

That is, until she brings it up again.

"About last night, can I talk to you? It's kind of important." She says, while moving to sit on my bed, her hands wringing nervously in her lap.

"My god, you gave him an STD, didn't you?"

"Hales, I'm trying to be serious here. Please, I need some of that great tutor-chick advice." My mom always said that I use comedy as an emotional outlet and a defense against important things. Funny how she knows this, yet can't remember when my soccer games are.

"Alright, go ahead." I say. "It's a commercial break."

"It's a DVD."

"Same difference if it's on pause. Anyway, talk."

"I screwed things up with Theresa."

"You mean when you screwed Nathan, the boy she's had a creepy obsession with the past four years? Sounds about right."

"Hales…"

"Sorry, go on."

"Anyway, I told her about Nathan, and she totally freaked out. More so after the fact that I told her I think I might like him, and not in the 'let's hook up again sometime' but rather in the 'let's go out, be my boyfriend' sort of way.

Jesus. Talk about another punch to my gut. I think I just felt my heart stop beating for a sec. God damnit. It was bad enough for him to like her, but for their feelings to be mutual?! That's _awful_. If he were any other guy, and if she were any other girl, this entire situation would be less important. But my _sister_, and my _best friend_ slash the guy I _love_? You might as well just kill me now, in the most sadistic Saw-ish of ways, because that wouldn't even hurt as much as what I'm feeling presently.

If they were different people, it wouldn't matter. They'd have one hook up, or hell, even a string of random hook ups, but it sure as hell wouldn't evolve into a relationship! God, two of the people I care about most, and this – whatever you want to call this pretty effed up situation I'm in.

"Hales?"

Whoa. Back to reality. I probably made myself look like an idiot again. Way to space out there Haley.

"Yeah."

"So what do you think?"

"About…?"

"Nathan and I. Or, the possibility of Nate and I, I guess."

_Nate. _The way she says it, it's so…the way I imagine myself to say it, in some sort of dirty dream or something.

"Maybe you should talk to him, see what he thinks."

"But you'd be okay with it?"

God, this stupid question. I **hate** it._ Okay Hales, swallow your pride._ _You never really told Rachel your true feelings about Nathan, why do it now and wreck any shred of hope she might've had of with him?_

_You know she'd do it for you. She'd back off of him in a heartbeat._

_Sorta like she backed off him last night?_

_She would do it for you._

_But would you really want her to? She deserves her shot with him. Rarely does Rachel actually care about a boy. _

_The same boy you happened to fall in love with._

_So speak up. Fight for him. Call her a slut and a bitch and a backstabbing hoe, for not only breaking your heart, but Theresa's as well. That crazy psychotic bitch that never actually stood a chance with him anyway. _

_Who's to say that if you speak up, she'll stay away? She broke Theresa's, her best friend, trust, what's gonna stop her from doing the same to you?_

_She's Rachel. She's family._

_Not by blood. And if she does betray you, the cats out of the mother fuckin' bag anyway. Nathan will know the truth, destroying your entire friendship and resulting in awkward silences and uneasy stares. Not to mention that they'd still be together. _

_So, what to do?_

_Suck it up. Swallow your pride, your feelings; bottle up your emotions and forget this little crush on Nathan ever existed. Be strong like a man, and grow some._

Her gaze was still heavy upon mine. Her expression was confident, yet worried and skeptical.

"Sure Rach, go for it. He's all yours."

So here I am, two hours later, tears streaming down my face as a cry into Brooke's shoulder. Her arms are wrapped around me protectively as empty cartons of ice cream litter the floor, next to the mountains of discarded tissues.

_What a pretty picture._

Flashback 

"_Sure Rach, go for it. He's all yours."_

_Rachel's face lit up like a child's on Christmas morning. "Thank you so much Hales! You have no idea how much this means to have your approval to be with him! God, I just, I just like him so much, you know? Like, I had no idea how much one night could change your opinions of a person. Though, it was an amazing night. He did this incredible thing with his tongue, and oh." Her expression turned slightly more sober after a moment. _

"_See Hales, I wanted to ask you something else too. Like in the form of a favor possibly?" She gave me a hopeful gaze. _

"_I was sorta wondering if you would talk to Nathan for me. Ya know, get his opinions from last night…and possibly the future? Talking isn't exactly my forte." She hints suggestively._

Sweet Jesus. She'd already stabbed me in the heart. Now she's just twisting the knife so it'll go in deeper.

"_Sure Rachel…but uh, I don't know when I'll seem him next. I'm actually heading to Brooke's for the night, so I might just see him tomorrow, or whenever." I say, blurting out whatever I could possibly think of at the top of my head. _

I already gave her the clear path to Nathan. So what if I throw a couple stones in the way? No one said I had to back all the way down.

End Flashback 

"Shh…Hales, it's okay." Brooke whispered comfortingly into my hair.

"God, it hurts so bad Brooke."

"Shh…I know."

How the hell does she know? At least she got her man last night. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Brucas _finally_ got together.

"And it's all my fault, I practically pushed her to him when she asked."

"You were being selfless. One of your more honorable traits. It's not your fault if the hoe can't figure out you're crazy in love with him. It's so obvious."

"Brooke," I laugh through tears. "You didn't even know until I told you."

"So what? I don't live with both you and Nathan, she should've seen the signs."

"All those times she asked me if I liked him, and I laughed it off. How could our love be anything other than platonic? She had no reason to doubt me, and eventually she stopped asking altogether."

"It'll get better sweetie. You don't know if they'll even date. And if they do, they won't last forever. It's not like they'll get married in high school or anything foolish like that."

Again Brooke caused me to laugh. "Yeah, who would do something as stupid as that?"

_The next day._

So after some major therapy and girl-time with B. Davis, I'm ready to go home, and admit a few things to my dear sister Rachel.

I walk up my front steps, and don't even bother with pulling my keys out. Our house is always unlocked. Trudging up to my room, I decide to get a few hours of sleep before confronting my demons with Rachel.

I walk up the stairs when I faintly hear moans.

_Okay. Grossness._ I automatically think before my mind even registers what could be occurring a few rooms away.

She could've gotten over it, over _him_. It could've been like some sort of 24-hour virus consuming her body; she could be fucking the brains out of some random guy right now. _Yeah, she could've gotten over him._

"Ohhhh Nathannnn." She screams in the distance.

_Or, she could've gotten under him. _

Oh god. My eyes well up again. I forgot he was going to come over yesterday. Straight into the arms of Rachel...did he even register I wasn't there? Now it's done...completely sealed with a kiss. Yea right, knowing Rachel, it's never sealed with anything less than a fuck. At least I had a miniscule chance left to talk to her this morning. To admit my feelings for him were way past platonic. That oppurtunity was shot to hell, as well as my efforts to holding back these tears. I cover my mouth and hurriedly run up to my room, and head straight towards the bathroom.

Pulling up the toilet seat, I throw up again. All the empty calories from the ice cream reappear in front of me. I really need a new hobby. Or a new way to deal with this shit, throwing up just isn't covering it.

I begin to rip off my clothes, and then halfway through, I stop caring. I turn the shower on; the hot water dial turned all the way, the cold one untouched. I jump into it, with my jeans, socks, and undershirt on. I don't give a fuck as the water burns my skin, as the remains of my make up runs down my face, or as my tears blend together with the scalding water.

Hell, I don't even care that the shower curtain is only half-closed.

Or that my cell phone is still in my pocket. Let water hit it. Let it ring. Let me get electrocuted. It must hurt less than what I'm feeling right now.

"God damnit!" I curse, and throw the nearest object at the wall, which happens to be a shampoo bottle, which happens to break and splatter everywhere.

I don't give a fuck about anything right now. But I'm doing anything and everything to get her moans out of my head. The sound of the mattress squeaking under their active bodies. Or his sweaty, panting image as he climaxes in her; The way she says his name when it finally happens. Or the way they did it without the support of alcohol this time around. No such mother fucking luck.

It just hurts so damn bad…


	10. Chapter 10

**So I think last chapter set a record for reviews. Equals Awesomeness! hehe**

**Chapter 10**

_A few weeks later_

So Nathan and Rachel started going out. Three weeks, five days ago actually. Which makes it three weeks, seven days ago that Nathan last spent the night…in my room. It's only been like 12 hours since he last stayed the night; only he was in Rachel's room. It's been awhile since Nathan and I've even had a real conversation. It's only been 12 hours since he and Rachel have had sex.

It's only been 12 hours since I've thrown up.

Brooke is worried, and I don't blame her. In the last month or so, I've lost eight pounds. She thinks I'm too thin, and I can't help but agree. It's not like I don't eat; I eat like crazy. And it's not like I purposely throw up all the time. I'm not bulimic. I just haven't found a better way to deal with all this stress.

At least I don't cut my wrists, or some other emo shit like that.

Brooke always insists on girls' nights at least two times a week now. This includes hours of eating ice cream, watching movies, dancing, or whatever. It also means I can leave the house, binge on food, and not worry about seeing it again later on. Little by little, Brooke is making me fat. And for once, this is definitely a good thing.

It's not the most orthodox form of therapy, but hell, it definitely works the best.

My soccer coach is even getting worried. At our last game, she benched me halfway through the third quarter. Usually I play the entire time. I was persistent in telling her I was fine, but she said she didn't want me to fall and break in half. Geez woman, it isn't _that_ serious. I've gained three pounds back. Brooke has even gotten around to picking on me about it nowadays, though I don't really mind. It means things are returning to normal, and that she doesn't have to worry about me so much.

"Hales, I swear. If you don't grow some meat on those pretty little bones of yours soon, I might not let you rejoin the squad. I don't want any rumors about an anorexic on our team. Bad public image." She teases.

I begin to pull a folder out of my locker, and out of the corner of my eye, I can see Nathan and Rachel walking down the hall hand-in-hand. At least they kept it civil in school; at home they fuck like a pair of wild rabbits. Have I mentioned the fact that I've stayed over at Brooke's house many times during the past couple of weeks? It's a good thing that Lucas understands. Well, he sort of does. It's not like he knows the whole story, he thinks I'm just easily disgusted by all the PDA.

Can you blame me? How would you feel first off, if your walls constantly shook, and the music you most heard was that of moans and mattresses? Yeah, disgusting. Now add in the factor that it's the guy I love and my sister? It's enough to make anyone go crazy.

It seems that Nathan and I are mutually avoiding eachother lately. Me for obvious reasons; it hurts too damn much to hear him talk about Rachel, plus soccer has kept me pretty busy. Him, well I haven't figured that one out yet, but he's also training for preseason, in the time not spent with Rachel.

Out of the corner of my eye I see them making out at her locker, which is only a few down from mine. "_Thank God it's the end of the day_." I think.

I sling my backpack over my shoulders and walk past them to Brooke's locker, which is a few past Rachel's. "Hey Haley." She says as I walk by. I turn around. Nathan's arms are holding onto her waist, and for a second it looks like he's avoiding my gaze. Talk about weird.

"What are your plans? Do we get the house alone again after school, or you actually gonna join us for once?" She teases, and I give a small smile. "Ohh sounds kinky." She says as an afterthought.

"You would know." I smirk. "Anyway, I think I'm gonna go to Brooke's. I'll be home around ten though probably." Nathan's eyes meet mine, and for a second I lose myself. His eyes aren't as inviting as they always used to be, which I can't blame him for, but that glimmer is still there, along with a slightly worried expression that appears as he looks me over. Rachel presently has her back turned and she's piling books into her bag, she doesn't notice the silent exchanges Nate and I share.

His eyes are definitely worried now. His face is confused too, this is the first time we've had any sort of contact in the past couple of weeks. He shoots me a look, mouthing the words, "Are you okay?" Usually these words would be taken as common courtesy, but Nathan is genuinely concerned. His eyes give him away every time.

I mouth back, "I'm fine." Automatically thinking he'll believe it, like he normally does nowadays. Surprisingly he shakes his head, not believing me for a second. "Yeah right." He mouths back, slightly pissed off now.

Now it's my turn to be confused. He went from worried to angry within ten seconds. I give him a questioning look. "Why are you lying?" He mouths, and, turns around to face Rachel, just as Brooke comes up to me. "Hey, ready?" She asks.

"Yeah." I say, and we begin to head down the hallway, I give Nathan a look as we walk past him. _What the hell just happened?_

As we ride to Brooke's in silence, I can't help but notice that even through all the distance between us nowadays, Nathan still knows me better than anyone.

Once we get to her house, we drop our bags and head into the kitchen. I'm in the middle of getting out my homework when the doorbell rings. "I'll get it!" I yell up to Brooke, who's in her room picking out a movie.

I open the door to see Lucas standing there. "Hey." He says awkwardly.

"Hey Luke. C'mon in."

"Are you stating tonight?" He asks suddenly.

"Nah. Just the day. Need something?" I ask worriedly.

"No, I was just gonna see if Brooke wanted to hang out." He says. "But I'll come back tomorrow or something." He turns around to leave.

"Lucas, wait. Come on in, I'm about to head out anyway." I say.

"Are you sure?" He asks.

"Positive." I nod my head in affirmation. It suddenly occurred to me that in the past few weeks that I'd been hanging out with Brooke, Lucas hadn't seen his girlfriend very often. Feeling guilty, I decide to let them be, maybe for a few days. Brooke had been there for me for too long, it's not fair to expect her to pick me off the floor all the time.

We head into the house and I grab my bag, just as Brooke comes down the stairs with a movie. "Hey Hales, is _Dreamgirls _oka-?" She asks, when she suddenly sees Lucas. "Hey!" She says happily, giving him a huge hug.

Lucas looks at me. "Just leaving?" He mouths, a smile on his face. I blush in response. Oops, caught in the act. I shrug.

"Hey Brooke, I think I'm gonna head out, give you and Boy toy some time together." I smile.

"Hey, it's no big deal, really." Lucas says, but I shake it off.

"Nah, it's cool." I reply.

I said goodbye to both, and headed for home. I'm glad they're together. They deserve eachother so much, and I can't help but feel slightly guilty for hindering it for the past few weeks.

_**Third person-Brooke's house.**_

After Haley left, Brooke gingerly kissed Lucas. He easily returned it before pulling away.

"Is Haley okay?" He asked her.

Brooke shrugged. "She'll be fine. She's just in a funk lately."

"Yeah…I noticed she's been over here a lot lately. Are she and Nathan okay? I haven't seen them together in awhile. Hell, I haven't even seen him in awhile. He's always with Rachel. He's actually really quiet lately, and pretty moody."

"Yeah. I hear ya. But she'll be fine. Now me, on the other hand…" She whispered huskily, "I've been very male-deprived lately." She says suggestively, and he merely grinned in response.

_Haley's POV_

Before I open the door to my house, I try to prepare myself for what I'm about to possibly walk into. It still hurts, like hell actually, but as long as Nathan's happy, I guess I am too.

_Bullshit._

Whatever. I'll have to get over it eventually.

Upon entering my house, I'm utterly surprised. Instead of hearing the familiar moans coming from the general direction of her bedroom, I hear them shouting at eachother from the kitchen.

"Rachel, you're being ridiculous!"

"Ridiculous? How the fuck am I being ridiculous, Nathan? The fact that my former best friend was totally hitting on you today, and you just let her do it? That's so ridiculous!"

"She grabbed my hand, I didn't touch her! My god, get it through your head; I don't like Theresa! She annoys the shit out of me, okay?! I can't stand her!"

"Oh, so _now_ you can't stand her?! Nice cover you lying bastard! And what about Bevin, I bet you'd screw her in a minute, wouldn't you?!"

"What the fuck are you on? I like _you_. Y-O-U! Jesus Christ Rachel, why can't you get that?"

"Oh please. You hardly touch me anymore! You're probably cheating on me right now!"

"Are you fucking serious? It's a never-ending thing with you! Why fuck someone else when I can have you anytime I want?"

"Anytime you want? ANY FUCKING TIME YOU WANT NATHAN? I'm not a fucking whore!"

"I didn't say that!"

"You implied it! Besides, you've probably cheated on me plenty of times since we've started dating!"

_Seriously, did I just step into the twilight zone or something? I thought everything was fine between these two._

"When Rachel? I spend every fucking minute with you, apart from training for basketball!"

"Whatever Nathan. I'm so fucking sick of this sh-" She says walking out from the kitchen, and upon seeing me, she freezes for a sec.

"Haley, hey." She says, her voice a lot calmer now. Nathan follows a few steps behind her, wondering why she suddenly went quiet. He stops too. Rachel quickly slides her arm around his waist, and leans up and gives him a quick peck on the cheek.

Nathan looks beyond confused, and I must say I probably look the same.

"Weren't you going to Brooke's?" She asks tentatively.

"Uhh yeah. Change of plans." I say, and eye them curiously. "Are you guys okay?"

Rachel nods her head quickly. "We're fine. Lovers' quarrel, right baby?" She asks, looking up towards him. Nathan nods his head slowly, and diverts his eyes to the ground when Rachel turns away.

"Uhh okay. I'll be in my room if you need me." I say after a moment of silence.

"Yeah. I'm going for a run soon." Rachel says, completely ignoring Nathan. "Actually now." She says, looking at the clock on the wall. She leaves the house, still wearing jeans and a halter-top. Not exactly running clothes.

Nathan and I stand there for a second, rather awkwardly. Like I said, it's been awhile since we've even had a decent conversation.

"Want to talk about it?" I ask him.

"Not exactly." He answers. Giving me a once-over, he finally realizes what's different about me. Glancing at my frail body, he asks, "Want to talk about it?"

"Not exactly." I say, making eye contact, then quickly look down at the floor.

"We should." He says after a moment.

"What?"

"Talk about it."

"Ok…come on."

We walked up to my room; he's about three steps behind me.

I open the door and collapse on my bad. He just stands there rather uncomfortably.

"You can lay down you know. I won't bite." I joke, trying to ease the obvious tension.

"It's not your bite I'm afraid of." He admits, finally meeting my eye. "She already thinks I'm cheating on her with her friends. I don't need her thinking it about _you_ too."

"It'll be fine, Nate. She knows us."

"Which 'us', Haley? The inseparable best friends or the distant acquaintances that can't even communicate without all the obvious tension?"

"What do you think we're doing right now? You'll be fine Nate, just sit down and relax for a minute."

"Easy for you to say. She doesn't chew your ass out 24/7." He admits, but sits down nonetheless.

_24/7? Which means they've fought more than just this one occasion? _

"What happened?" I ask him.

"She's thinks I'm cheating on her."

"Are you?"

"Of course not." He snaps, and then looks up guiltily. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"Look, You sure you want to hear this? I don't want to dump all my problems on you Hales, especially when you look like shit yourself."

"Thanks." I joke. "Then what do you call all those problems with your family? Pleasantries?"

Finally a laugh out of him. Slowly he begins to settle in, leaning back against the bed.

"I'm not cheating on her. I don't know what sparked it, but one day, she just asked me. I denied it, and she forgot about it. She asked me a few days later, and I denied it again. But she still thinks I'm hiding something from her, though I have no idea what."

"She's complicated Nathan. And she's scared, she likes you a lot."

"Yeah. But I can't help but think that every time she asks me, she's almost hoping I say yes. Almost to relieve her own guilt."

"You think she's cheating on you?"

"I don't know. I don't want to think about it." He answers truthfully.

"Are you guys really that dysfunctional?" I ask tentatively.

"No, we're worse than that."

"Then why keep at it?"

Nathan doesn't answer. Slowly, I get a sinking suspicion.

"Do you love her?" My breath catches in my throat as I ask him this, hoping I don't breakdown at his answer.

"Hell no." He answers, taking me by complete surprise. He's not lying. "I definitely don't love her Hales."

"Then why…?" I ask, as the familiar playfulness returns to his eyes. "Ewww. Nate, definitely don't want to think about that! Hearing it while you guys do it is bad enough!" By now he's smirking, and it's beginning to feel like the old times.

"I'm sorry Haley, but the sex is just _that _good."

I stifle a laugh. "It should be, you guys are the equivalent of eachother. It's like a match made in whore-heaven." I tease.

"Oh believe me…it's _definitely_ heaven." He smirks, and I lightly shove him.

"I'm not surprised. You guys do it enough."

"Nah…not that often, lately anyway."

We return to silence, and for a minute I lay there just thinking. It still hurts to imagine the two of them having sex, but not nearly as much as it would if he actually loved her. The moment he said that, it was like an enormous weight had lifted off my shoulders.

"So what about you?" He asks.

"What about me?"

"What's with being the Nicole Richie look- a-like?"

"It's not that drastic Nate, I've just been under a lot of stress."

"Are you sure, you're not like, anorexic?"

"Pshh. God no!"

"Well that's good." He says. "What about bulimia?"

"Nathan, I solemnly swear I do not have an eating disorder!" I say through a laugh.

"Good." He says, slowly putting a hand on my waist, delicately running his fingers over my slightly visible ribs. "Because you're perfect just the way you are."

"Aww thanks Nate." I smile genuinely.

One of the rare times in the last three weeks and five days.


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, i'm sure you guys must hate me...believe me, I would too. Just, life happens ya know? Not to mention the fact that i had this insanely long writers block. Well anyway, now that I've got a little more time on my hands and my head on a little straighter, I can finally update! Just know that I don't want to give up on this story, in all honesty I love it. Anyway, for those of you still reading, enjoy...Oh, and everything italicized is Haley's personal thoughts.  
**

**Chapter 11**

_"Go for him, save him, run-nooooo." _I wake up in a sweat, sitting straight up in Brooke's guest bed. I hadn't had a nightmare in a long time, and this one was a bad one. In it, Nathan and I had gotten married and were on our way to our honeymoon when Rachel drove us off the road, drunk as hell. However it was on the middle of a bridge, and our limo crashed into the water. Nathan and I were both underwater, but rescuers only saw me, only saved me. They didn't believe me when I told them Nathan was still in there. They didn't even check.

It took me a minute to collect my bearings and clear my head. It was just a bad dream. Normally, when I used to have those, Nathan would wrap me in his arms until I fell back asleep. Except nowadays, there is no Nathan next to me to protect me.

"How is the situation with Nathan?" You might ask. The answer is, pretty good. It's not like we're back to being as close as we used to be, he's still with Rachel, but at least we talk and hang out now. I haven't seen him in a few days though, his parents whisked him off to his Grandparents for Thanksgiving. Our parents aren't coming home for the holiday though, last I knew they were somewhere in France. Lovely. So we spent Thursday at Peyton's house, filling up on turkey and mashed potatoes. It was like an orphaned Thanksgiving, the 3 of us and Brooke, enjoying a parentless holiday.

So it's been me and Rach for the past few days, and in all honesty I'm bored out of my mind. All she talks about is clothes, or sex, or how I need a boyfriend. And if I hear one more story about her and Nathan I do believe I'm going to scream. She could go on and on for hours about how amazing of a guy he is. _Hello,_ I noticed it first. I just didn't react.

_And you never will._

I check the alarm clock next to me, six thirty on a Saturday morning. And I definitely can't sleep now. There's no point in waiting for Brooke to wake up, that could take all day, I might as well go home. Quickly I scribble a note out to her saying I'll see her later, and creep out of the house. Driving back to my house, I realize what hell Nathan must be in right now because of his grandparents. I pull into the driveway wishing that I could be there to comfort him during his nightmare, which unfortunately just happens to be a reality.

I put my key in the lock and quietly shut the door behind me. I walk down the hall careful not to wake up Rachel; she's absolute hell to deal with in the morning. Heading in the direction of the kitchen, I hear faint traces of pots and pans clattering. This must be a record, she's never up this early. My curiosity gets the best of me as I walk in the kitchen and see a multitude of food cooking on the stove. There's plate upon plate of omelets and hashbrowns and toast. A figure appears out from the other side of the open fridge door.

"Rach, I didn't picture you as a morning pers- oh." An insanely hot guy says as he shuts the fridge door. "My bad. My name's Cooper, you must be Haley."

_Ok, what the fuck is going on here? Who is this gorgeous guy, why did he think I was Rachel, how does he know my name, and why is he only in a towel? _

My eyes graze down his tanned abs to the white towel gracing his hips. Whoa, this guy is fine. He's got dark hair and gloriously green eyes, and perfect white teeth. My breath catches in my throat for a minute until I realize I'm staring.

"Oh, um, yeah. I'm Haley." I say, still confused as hell as why this demi-god is in my kitchen this early on a Saturday morning.

He flashes me a perfect smile and continues to cook.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but what are you doing here?" I finally ask, feeling slightly naked in my shorts and tank top. Of course, when it comes to a lack of clothes award, this guy takes the cake.

"I'm Rachel's boyfriend, I go to Duke. I was actually supposed to drive back there last night but the weather kinda sucked so Rach had me come back here. Not that I minded too much." He winked. Right now my mind is racing. _Nathan and Rachel broke up? But when? Why? _I hear movement on the stairs and realize that my half-sister is indeed awake. She walks into the kitchen, "Hey bab-" She freezes. And looks slightly uncomfortable, not to mention that she too is underdressed, wearing only this guy's shirt. "Haley, hey." For a moment she looks like a deer caught in the headlights, yet she manages to play it off nicely. Then the pieces in my head finally begin to come together. Random images float inside my head for a moment; Cooper with his golden abs wearing only a towel, Rachel looking nervous, Cooper's announcement that he's dating Rachel. The picture I see most clearly in my mind though, is Nathan sitting down to a Thanksgiving dinner with his parents, completely unaware that his girlfriend is two-timing him with some college kid.

"Can I uh, talk to you for a minute?" She asks, biting on her bottom lip like she normally does when she gets caught doing something she knows is wrong. Without waiting for my reply, she latches onto my arm and pulls me down the hallway and into the living room. Closing the doors behind her, she finally turns to face me. "Cooper is just a friend. We got drunk last night, thought it was unsafe for him to drive back, so he crashed here. That's all."

I roll my eyes. "Okay, now the truth please."

Rachel looks somewhat regretful. "Okay, so I'm kind of seeing him too. But I still care a lot about Nathan. You won't tell him will you?" At this point she's practically begging me.

"Wait. You accuse Nathan of cheating on you, when all this time you've been stabbing him in the back?" I ask angrily.

She seems more composed now. "Well, it's not like we ever said we were exclusive."

:"Like that solves anything. Nathan is my best friend Rach, I have to tell him." My tone is definitely sarcastic.

"You barely hang with him anymore! And, I'm your sister Hales, blood is thicker than water!"

"We're step-sisters Rach, blood isn't involved."

"Same-dif girlie. Pretty please don't tell him though? I just need time." She's pleading with me now, quite an unfamiliar sight. I can't help but give in.

"Fine. But you're gonna have to tell him sooner or later, otherwise I will. Nathan doesn't deserve this." She doesn't hear the last part though, she's already got her arms wrapped around my neck. "Thanks so much Hales! I love you!" Then she skips out of the room, quite an unpleasant sight for me, considering the fact she's only wearing Cooper's shirt. She sticks her head through the door again, "Quite a catch, isn't he? Cooper. Plus, he's a fucking god in the sack." She winks as I groan. Falling back in a chair, I wonder what the hell I'm going to do.

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It's later in the day now. It's only just starting to get dark now, and I feel my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. It's a text from Nathan, asking if we can hang. Since the cheating cat came out of the bag this morning, Rachel went back to Duke with Cooper. I quickly text him back saying he can come over.

Two minutes later I hear a knock on my bedroom window. I open it up to find him on the other side, looking more handsome that ever. And he's just wearing a shirt and jeans.

"What are you doing? You know my parents aren't home. The front door is totally accessible." I tell him as he crawls in through the window.

"I figured. But I just wanted to see you, no one else." He says, referring to Rachel.

"Well, I'm glad you came back bruise-less this time." I joke. "And no worries, Rachel's at - Theresa's house for the night." I lie quickly, and feel instant guilt. This time, he catches something.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I reply. Damn it. I'm such a bad liar.

"Whatever." He says, shaking it off. "So we have the house to ourselves?" He hints suggestively, winking at me.

"Oh yeah." I play along. "Wanna watch a movie?" Already knowing what his answer will be, I walk towards my shelf and scan through my list of movies. Picking one out, I turn around to see him already settled on my bed.

_Just like the old days. _I smile to myself. Nathan looks up and catches me.

"What?"

"Nothing." I reply, and put the movie in. I settle on the bed next to him, and he wraps his arm around underneath me so that I'm leaning into the crook of his neck almost.The previews start playing and he looks to me. "It's nice, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"This. It's like how it used to be." He smiles, and I can't help but return it.

_It's the way it's supposed to be. _

I snuggle in as the movie begins to play. I decided to watch Click, with Adam Sandler, because I figure that we've had enough drama lately, some that he doesn't even know about, and we both need a little comedy. I have never seen it before, otherwise I probably would've picked something that had me laughing, rather than crying by the end. Which is exactly how I am at the end of the movie.

The credits start rolling and Nathan tilts his head towards me. "Hales, it's just a movie." He says this after every movie where I cry, or am scared, or just plain happy at the results.

"I know!" I say with tears sparkling in my eyes. "But he, his life was almost completely wasted. He never got to watch his kids grow up, or tell his one true love that he still loved her! It's so sad."

His eyes go cloudy for a minute, like he's still staring at me, but not actually seeing me.

"Nathan?" I ask, wiping a few tears from my eyes. He shakes whatever he was thinking from his thoughts and smiles.

"I don't know. The duck thing was pretty funny." I hit him lightly and shake my head, but inside I'm agreeing.

I reach over him to grab the remote, and glance at the clock. It's only ten thirty, yet I'm extremely exhausted. Behind me, I hear Nathan stifle a yawn. "Damn, when we did we become so old?" He jokes, and I move back to my spot next to him, inhaling his scent once again. It's so hard to believe that Rachel could cheat on such an amazing guy.

"You sure you're okay Hales?" He asks, pulling me from my thoughts once again.

"Fine." I reply with a small smile.

"Did something happen this weekend? You seem different." He states worriedly.

"No. Well, yeah. I guess. My parents didn't come home." I answer. Honestly this bothered me a bit, not that I wasn't used to it or anything, but my parents were never away during the holidays. He's still looking at me, making me realize that he wants me to continue on.

"I don't know. I just, it just feels like they don't even know me anymore, let alone care to. I'm always trying to get them to notice me, just be proud of me for one second and I'd know it'd be worth it. But, they don't even care anymore. I just feel like I' m not enough to keep them around, or I push them away." By now I'm full on crying, so maybe this did affect more so than I thought it did. Nathan just wraps his other arm around me, pulling me even closer into his body.

"Hales, you're amazing. You're smart, witty, insanely beautiful, and you try so damn hard to impress your parents. If they don't notice you now, it's their loss. I just wish you'd realize how incredible you are. You're parents don't know what they're missing out on." He whispers into my ear, running his hand through my hair and up and down my back, giving me chills.

I pull away for a second. "Do you really mean that?"

He brushes a stray tear from my eye and I notice his are heavy again. "Every word." Then slowly, he bends down and kisses me lightly. Not on the forehead, not on my cheek, completely on my lips. He continues for a second, then pulls away, never taking his eyes off of mine. We stare into each other for a few moments, viewing each others' reaction, then I wrap my hand around the back of his neck and lean up as he leans down. We kiss again, this time with more certainty. I've dreamed about kissing him for so long, and now that it's finally happening, it feels better than I ever could've expected.

He continues to kiss me, and moves to adjust himself so that he's on top of me. I place both hands on the back of his head and pull him closer to me. It's feels so natural to be here with him, right now, doing nothing but feeling the heat of this kiss coursing through both of us. It's like all the drama, all the space between us, everything I feel about, is being thrown into this kiss. And I never want it to end.

Slowly Nathan removes one of his hands from my hips and uses it to slide my shirt up. Feeling his hand on my bare abdomen only gives me more energy and I moan slightly. I then move my hands and use them to slide his t-shirt off. Much to my disappointment he has to pull away for me to slide it off over his head. I pull mine off after and throw it on the floor. He straddles me, his eyes never leaving mine, and just for a second, I fear that he's regretting everything. If he is, he doesn't show it, especially when he leans forward again, smiling, capturing my lips once more. His hands roam my body as i use one of my hands to play with the hair on the back of his head.

I feel him unclasp my bra, and all thoughts of anything leave my head. Rachel is so far out of the picture I couldn't tell you who she is. There's something so incredibly sexy about thinking about Nathan and I making out topless on my bed, each of us wearing nothing but jeans. I run my hands up and down his six pack abs and smile into the kiss. His hands are running through my hair, our bare chests pushed together as if they were never supposed to be separated. I use one of my hands to undo his belt, feeling all of him beneath his jeans. He moans into the kiss, making me melt.

_God, he's so sexy. _

I undo his belt and unzip his jeans. He moves his hands to reciprocate the action. He slides my jeans down a little, massaging the skin above my underwear. I start to slide down his pants when all of the sudden I feel my phone vibrate. Nathan jumps from the shock of it, and panting, I struggle to answer. Trying to even out my breathing, I answer the phone. Standing up, I begin to pace the room.

"Heyyy ho. What's up?" Rachel asks, obviously drunk. I suddenly begin to feel really guilty.

"Not much Rach." I say, not elaborating at all. Nathan looks up, seems like he's coming to his senses too.

"You sound out of breath." She giggles. "Have you finally got a boyfriend?" Apparently this is hilarious to her, because she's laughing her ass off now.

"Uh, no. I was just rushing to get to the phone." I lie, and catch his gaze again. He moves to get up and begins to fasten his belt back together as Rachel keeps mindlessly babbling into my ear.

"That's nice Rach, but I'm uh- really tired, I got to go." I say quickly and hang up before she can reply. Nathan's searching the room for his shirt and shoes, and I put my bra back on. After, I effortlessly slide my shirt back on, and look at him.

"Look, I've got to go." He says, the first actual words we've said to each other in an hour.

"Nate." I begin helplessly, but I honestly don't know what to say. He looks at me again, and I know he's feeling exactly what I'm feeling. At least for a moment anyway, because a second later he changes his expression.

"Look, we just got caught up in the moment, right? I mean, I was just comforting you, and then...yeah. It was just one friend helping out another one, it didn't mean anything." His tone isn't mean, it's soft and gentle and reasonable, but the words bite at me like a blizzard.

His words sting, and it takes all I can do to not start crying again. I just shake my head. "I can't believe you." Defeated, I sit down on my bed, where minutes ago, Nathan and I were perfectly content.

He sits down next to me, careful to keep his distance. "Hales..." But I just shake my head again.

"I think you should go." He doesn't protest. Instead he gets up and and walks towards the window, turning around to try again. "I cheated on my girlfriend Haley, your sister. She doesn't deserve this." And with this he leaves. I wait until I hear his car peel out of the driveway and down the road to start crying. And not just any type of crying; I mean full on sobbing, crying my eyes out, type of crying. I rip my sheets off the bed, unable to even use the same blankets because he was all over them, _we_ were all over them.

He didn't mean it, any of it. He thinks this kiss was a mistake, he likes my sister, not me. He'll sleep with my sister, not me. He wishes it never happened. He _regrets _this.

Maybe I don't because I know Rachel is doing the exact same thing to him, if not something much worse.

And with this, I fall asleep wondering how something I've longed for for so long could become such a nightmare.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Hales, can you do me a favor? Will you go pick up the pizza? I forgot to have it delivered." Rachel shouts to me from the living room. I'm in the kitchen on the other hand, grabbing numerous cans of soda and beer, as well as other types of food.

"Sure." I call back. Rachel and I decided to just have a chill day today; basically we're just gonna hang out in our pajamas and watch movies and get fat off of junk food. I haven't seen Nathan since we kissed, exactly a week ago today. We've pretty much avoided eachother in school, me partly because I was confused, mad, and couldn't stand the thought of not kissing him whenever I see him. Not that he would care much, seeing as how he believes it never should've happened. Whenever he and Rach hung out this week, he came up with random excuses so that she'd have to go to his house.

I was actually supposed to go to Charleston with Brooke and Peyton today, but those plans kind of fizzled out. After recieving one too many meaningless bills, Brooke's parents threatened to cut her off if she spent any more money this month. And Peyton, as it turns out, had to babysit her niece Jenny for Jake, her older brother. So this is how I ended up here, a weekend with no plans, just completely bumming it.

I set down the drinks on our coffee table and grab my car keys. "I'll be back in a few!" I call to her, she's now upstairs.

"Wait!" She replies, running down the steps. "Can you pick a few things up at the store?" She asks, handing me a list with a few items on it. I scan them quickly and nod my head.

_Typical Rachel, to give me work on a supposed workless day._

With a "Bye Ho!" on my wait out the door, I leave her to do whatever as I go to the store.

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**3rd Person - Rachel's/ Haley's House**

Rachel was busy picking out which movies she wanted to watch, knowing perfectly well that Haley would object to all of them; She hates sappy chick flicks. She smirked to herself as she eyed The Notebook. The sound of the doorbell pulled her out of her thoughts, and she got up to answer it.

"Nathan! Hey baby!" She greeted him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug and giving him a peck on the cheek. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, I was out running, and figured we could hang. I don't really have anything else to do today."

Rachel smiled, "Sure baby. I was just gonna hang out and watch movies, but come on, join me." Not even waiting for a reply, she pulled him inside the house.

She dragged him over to the couch and started to make out with him. After a few moments Nathan pulled away.

"What's wrong?" She asked, slightly confused, not to mention hurt. Even though she isn't exactly faithful to him or their relationship, she still cares about him a lot.

Nathan was quiet for a moment. He couldn't help but feel guilty for cheating on his girlfriend, with her sister none the less. And what was worse, was now he was unwillingly comparing their kisses to the other person's. He'd already determined that Rachel's were constantly fierce and hungry and animalistic in such an appealing way, while Haley's were sweet and passionate and sexy in a way that drove him wild with desire. Knowing this made him feel even worse about what he'd done.

"Nothing." He replied after he noticed that she was giving him an odd look. "Do you think we should start watching that movie?" Eyeing the dvd case on the coffee table and noticing it happened to be The Notebook, he added, "Or maybe not." Nathan just wanted to take the focus off of kissing his girlfriend.

All week he'd been deliberating back and forth on whether to tell Rachel. On Monday in school, he'd half expected the fiery redhead to storm up to him in the hall and call him out on it right then and there. When she didn't, and came up and passionately greeted him instead, he was beyond surprised at the fact that Haley hadn't told her. God knows that she must've felt pretty guilty about it too. Maybe she too felt that it meant nothing, so there was no reason to tell Rachel, and open up that whole can of worms.

There really was no point in telling her honestly. The kiss, or kisses as it actually turned out to be, were a mistake. If they told her, all it would do was relieve their own guilt. Rachel however, would be crushed, completely distrust the both of them ever alone together again, not to mention that her suspicions would actually be correct. His relationship with her would diminish completely, but he didn't care about that. Well, he did, but he cared more about her relationship with Haley. They had to live together, no doubt it'd be awkward and uncomfortable for them. Yeah, telling Rachel would do more harm than good; granted, kissing Haley had done the same thing. Not only does Nathan feel guilt in the pit of his stomach everytime he sees Rachel, but Haley and him will probably never be as close again.

"We can't start yet. We have to wait for Haley." Rachel explained. Nathan didn't have time to hide his surprise as he heard the front door slam.

"I'm here!" Haley yelled from the direction of the foyer after hearing her name, "What movie are we -?" She stopped dead in her tracks as she entered the living room and noticed the guest. "Hey Nate." She said.

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**Haley's POV**

Whoa. Talk about a shocker. Here I am, minding my own business, buying some groceries and stuff, ready to come home and chill, but who's there other than Nathan? So much for hanging out, there was immediate tension the second I walked into the room. Luckily, Rach seemed oblivious to it. By the looks of it, Nathan was just as surprised to see me as I was him.

"Hey Hales." he said after a moment, locking eyes with me for the first time in a week.

_God, I love those eyes._

It's too bad there's nothing but awkwardness and confusion written in them. He turns to Rachel, "I should probably go." He moves to get up but she grabs his hand.

"Baby, you told me that you were free all dayyyy." She whines, as if she hasn't seen him in weeks. "Stay please? We both want you too, don't we Haley?"

Great, put on the spot once again. "Uhh yeah, sure we do. You should stay." His eyes catch mine once again and I suddenly feel really nervous. How can Rachel not have an inkling to what's going on? She's completely ignorant to the situation.

"So, what movie are we gonna watch?" I ask. "What about The - " Just as she's about to suggest that stupid movie, both Nathan and I yell "No!". If it hadn't been so awkward in this room, it would've been quite comical. She shrugs. "You guys are missing out, The Notebook is a classic."

"Classically boring." I reply.Tired of standing in the doorway, I finally settle into the room. I move over to sit in a chair, but Rachel, lovely sister as she is, stops me. "What are you doing?" She asks, giving me a strange look.

"It's called sitting down. Or would you rather I stand the entire time?"

She rolls her eyes. "No, what I meant was, what are you doing over there? Come sit with us, there's plenty of room for your fat ass." She jokes. Regretfully I move to the only available spot on the couch...next to Nathan. I sit as far away from his as possible, which unfortunately for me, is only a few inches at best. It's still enough to smell his cologne, see the evidence that he didn't shave this morning, or even hear him breathing. It's going to be a looooooooong day.

Rachel's cell vibrated, and Fergie's song 'Clumsy' began to play. "Oh shit. I have to take this, you guys pick out a movie. This might take a little while." She says, walking out of the living room and towards the stairs. It's pretty obvious that Cooper is on the other end of the line, well, obvious to me anyway. Once she leaves the atmosphere of the room becomes even more intense, if that's possible. I stand up so that I don't have to be 2 inches away from him, a move that makes me sad and relieved at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" He asks, not in an angry tone, but definitely a confused one.

"Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing. The difference is, I _live_ here." I don't care that my tone is sarcastic. Haley tutorgirl James does not have to be perky 100 percent of the time.

"Woah chill...I just thought you were in Charleston this weekend. You mentioned it last week." He's still pretty calm.

Something in my head clicked. "So that's the only reason you came over, because you thought I wasn't here?"

He nodded and began to smirk, not the lovable one he usually has, but more so a defiantly cocky one. He's challenging me, and apparently enjoying it too. "Did you think there was another reason?" He's hinting at last weekend, and I hate him for it.

"Of course not." It's blatantly obvious to the both of us that I'm lying. I pause for a moment. "It's not like I would've even come in if I had seen your car in the driveway. Nice invisible paint job, is it new?"

"I was on a run and decided to stop over and see my _girlfriend_. Is that okay, or do I need a permission slip to see her next time?"

I shrug. "Do whatever. Come over, make out with her, cheat on her. I mean, it's not like it's anything you haven't done before." His eyes flicker for a moment. _Finally_ I struck a nerve in his tranquil little appearance.

He stands up too so that we're facing eachother. Well, sort of anyway, he still towers over me. "Can't we just forget it happened? I mean, we both agreed it was a mistake." His voice pleads with me.

By now my emotions are boiling over. I've got no control over what I'm saying. "What the fuck do you mean 'we'? As I recall, you were enjoying yourself until my cell rang. Then you put your clothes on, claimed it never should've happened and left before I could get a word in edge-wise!"

After my little rant, it took us both a minute to fully process what I just blurted out. "What are you saying?" He asks me slowly, looking me directly in the eye.

Oh crap. It's now or never, either I admit my feelings towards him, or bury them forever. "What the hell do you think I'm saying Nathan?!" I say defeated, and sit back down against the couch. I'm exhausted. "I like you."

We both know what I mean but he cares to clarify anyway. "You mean as a friend?" He says it like a statement rather than a question though.

"Oh please. I wish it were that easy." My sarcasm has returned. Nathan looks genuinely shocked at my confession though.

"Why are you so surprised? You think I make out slash practically sleep with with all my best friends like that?" The room is so quiet you could probably hear a pin drop.

"Do you think we would've actually had sex?" He asks after a few moments, sitting next to me once again, completely serious. Great, so now not only do I already feel like a fool, but he has to embarrass me by pretty much saying he'd never sleep with me.

"How else did you picture it ending?" I ask, glancing over to him.

"Honestly, I didn't think about it."

_Wow. Stick another knife in my heart boy, it's almost stopped beating._

"Look, what I don't understand is why you barely seem guilty about this at all. She's your fucking sister Haley."

Moment of truth, part two. To tell him, or not to tell him? That is the question. To tell him is to potentially crush him, not to mention taking the heat from Rachel, who can be Queen Bitch if provoked. To not tell him, well, doesn't that go against best friend code? So...tell him it is.

Nathan's still looking at me expectantly, waiting for a response. Inside his head I can picture him thinking about how big of a bitch I must look like for not caring about my half-sister. _If only he knew._

"Uh, well you see Nate, the reason I um, don't really feel as, uh guilty, as you think I should is," I can't do this. I don't want to do this. Why should I be put in this position of telling my best friend slash whatever he is that his girlfriend is cheating on him? Is this like some sort of karmic retribution for kissing him?

I open my mouth again to finally spit it out when the living room doors open and Rachel pops back in. "Hey guys. Pick out a movie?" I can't help but to notice that she's grinning wider than the Chesire Cat. I roll my eyes. It's one thing to cheat on him, but to do it when he's in your house? That's just uncool.

Nathan nods his head. "Yeah, I think we should watch 'Just Friends'. It seems like the perfect movie for a day like today." He says with a pointed look at me.

Rachel's grin gets wider, if that's even possible. "Definitely. Comedies are perfect on days like this." She says, not catching his actual point. "Plus, Ryan Reynolds is bangin! Though, not nearly as bangin as you baby." She gives him a wink and pops the movie in. We all settle in on the couch, Nathan unfortunately inbetween us.

At first a little ways into the movie Nathan grabs Rachel's hand, and gently rubs circles on it with his thumb. Every so often I can feel him looking at me, but I keep my gaze fixed on the screen. I'm not gonna give him the satisfaction that he's upsetting me. I can't believe he's actually purposely infuriating me because I didn't answer his stupid question. Out of the corner of my eye I can Rachel's hand creep up slowly over his upper thigh. She starts to run her nails up and down against his basketball shorts, to which he begins smirking immensly. Finally after about 5 minutes of this, I can't take it any longer. I get up and start to leave.

"Hales, where ya goin'?" Rachel asks me, turning her head away from the tv to face me.

"Refill." I say, grabbing the nearest cup. Nathan turns to look at me as my favorite line from the movie plays:

_The truth is that I'm afraid to be your friend because I'm always gonna want more. But then I got to thinking that I'd rather have you in my life as a friend than not at all._

I know he notices the line too, and I can't help but shake my head at him. I can't believe how big of a jackass he was today, on purpose! So I just walk out and head up to my room.

My tears begin to fall even before my door is closed. Nathan can be so hurtful when he wants to be. I just can't believe it's directed towards me. I fucking admit to him a secret I've been holding for years, just to have him reject me! And he made the first move last weekend, so what am I supposed to think?! God, and not only this, but how on earth are we supposed to stay friends, which is the main reason I didn't want to tell him in the first place! Geez. No best friend and no Prince Charming. This blows.

A little while later, there is a knock on my door. I grumble in response; whether the visitor chooses to accept it as permission is up to them. They do. Or he does at least. He never knocks, this must be a first.

"Hey." Nathan starts. Once again he looks ever so calm whereas I probably look nothing short of a train wreck.

"What do you want?" I ask him, not caring about whether or not I sound rude.

"Can we talk?"

"Are you sure?" I snap. "I mean, Rach isn't around to give you a blow job while you're doing it, so it sort of defeats the purpose of trying to hurt me."

"I'm sorry." He looks up. His eyes look sincere but right now I don't want to hear it.

"Tell it to someone who fucking cares." I turn over on my other side so my back is facing him. I hear my door shut and after a few moments of silence I presume he left. I presumed anyway, until I felt a weight down on my bed next to me.

"You might want to rethink this. Remember what _you_ started last time?

Nathan rolls his eyes. "If you're gonna be immature..."

"Says the guy who purposely wants me to watch his girlfriend be all over him."

"So, she has a right to be all over me, she's my _girlfriend_!"

"You kissed me!" I shout, then realize that my voice could've easily echoed through the house. I immediately clap my hand over my mouth. "Shit!"

Nathan remains completely chill. "She's gone...went to the store a half hour ago."

"So what've you been doing for the past thirty minutes then?"

"Getting up the courage to come talk to you." He answers honestly.

_God, I can't let him charm me. Not now. Not after all this that he's done today._

"Hales, I'm sorry. For everything. I"m sorry for all that shit today, and ya know, leading you on last weekend, I just, you're her _sister_."

"Nate, urgh. I don't even know what to say. I mean, how can we even go back to being as close as we were now that you know how I feel?" I feel butterflies in my stomach, and I want to do nothing more than shoot them. "Especially since you obviously don't feel the same way. You're confusing the hell out of me Nathan! Who do you like, who do want to be with, why go through all this shit, why put me through this hell?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know."

"What?"

"It's my answer...I don't know."

" To which part?"

"All of them." He's completely serious right now, which is only adding to my already confused state.

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yeah." His eyes are so dark they could pass for black almost. He's so aggravating. One minute he's pissed because I don't feel guilty, the next he says he doesn't know who he likes, then he's purposely trying to hurt me, then he's apologizing. Everything is so confusing, and I the only thing that makes sense to me is the most wrong thing of all.

So I kiss him. And it takes him all of 2 seconds to respond. Forgetting all the tension between us, I pour all of my anger over him, all of this confusion, into this kiss. If I had actually thought this through though, I would've realized that the consequences are a whole lot higher now. If the first time could be considered an accident, the second time was definitely not; these types of mistakes don't happen twice.

Nathan quickly wraps one arm around me; the other is running through my hair. My hands are already under his shirt, my fingers tracing over every ripped edge of his abs. Suddenly he pulls away, and for a second I'm afraid that he's come to his senses again, but instead he slides his shirt off over his head. I use the time to do the same thing, and once again we're in the same position that we were in a week ago.

I place my hand on his chest and feel his racing heartbeat. I smile into the kiss because as much as he might try to deny it later, he's into it, this, right now.

Using a free hand, he begins to pull down my shorts. His thumb traces over the edge of them, and he teasingly begins to pull on them. I can't help but begin to become impatient because he's taking his sweet time.

Kissing Nathan now, as bad as it may sound, is familiar. It's so incredibly invigorating, and intoxicating, and liberating this time around. Is it so wrong to think that he may feel the same way? I mean, he didn't pull away...in fact the only thing he's pulling on right now is my shorts. It's about damn time he took them off. With his hand he brushes them off the bed and pulls away for a minute.

He's smiling. Not a smirk, but an actual full on smile. All he's doing is staring at me, smiling. It's actually quite uncomfortable, yet surprisingly comfortable at the same time. Does that make sense? Probably not, but that's the effect Nathan has on me. Nothing about him makes sense.

"Hi." I say shyly, biting on my bottom lip, but still smiling.

"Hi." He smiles, and bends down to kiss me.

And it's at this point that I realize there's no stopping. He won't pull away, freak out, or do anything to stop this from happening...unless Rachel comes home.

"She could be home any minute." I test him. Bullshit. There's no way she's at the store, I was there earlier for her. She's with Duke boy, whatever his name is, I don't care. I'm with Nathan, that's all that matters.

"I don't care." He replies, kissing my neck gently, over and over again. His warm breath hits my neck and I almost lose my mind.

_I love this boy. _

Nathan discards his shorts onto the ever-increasing pile of clothes on my floor. While I pull down the last remains of his clothing, he works on taking off my bra. Finally we're both free from the restrictions of clothing, and I'm loving it. I mean, it's not like Nathan and I haven't seen each other naked before, but it's never been anything close to this context. I move my hands down his body, learning every ripple, every contour of his abs until I finally reach well, you know. Nathan moans quietly into my neck as I begin to massage him and I can't help but shiver in response.

He begins to push forward a little. "Nathan...wait." I stop him, pulling my hand away from and resting them on his chest. He lifts his head to look at me, slight confusion in his eyes and I know he's thinking I'm stopping this. "Are you okay?" He asks, resting one hand on my hip and using his thumb to trace circles on it, an action he used hours ago while holding Rachel's hand.

I can't help but marvel at how incredibly sexy he looks right now. His hair is messed up, his breathing is ragged and he's sweating just a little. Not to mention the fact that his entire naked body is pressed down onto mine. Yeah, that kind of helps too. His eyes are intense and passionate, yet concerned about whatever I'm going to say or do next. This entire moment seems extremely pivotal.

"Condom." I breathe out, lightly scraping my nails against his muscular chest. The confusion in Nathan's eyes turns to relief and a small grin reappears on his face.

"Be right back." He says quietly into my ear, as if it's a big secret know one else can know about. Well, technically it is. He pushes himself off the bed and walks towards the bathroom.

_Dear lord he's got the cutest ass I've ever seen._

I smile to myself, and readjust so that I'm under the covers. Nathan walks back into the room, and my breath catches in my throat for a moment. He's just that amazing. Sliding into the covers, he looks over at me.

"You ready?" He asks.

Staring him straight in the eye, I lean up to kiss him again, hoping my answer is suitable.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 **

_The next morning... _

I wake up with a set of strong, muscular arms wrapped around me, and can't help smiling to myself.

_So last night actually happened._ I think, fearful that it had just been an amazing dream. I snuggle into Nathan and rest my head against his bare chest, wishing I could wake up like this every day. He shuffles a little in response, and a few moments later his eyes flicker awake.

As reality sets in on him, I'm once again afraid that he's gonna regret this. Instead, he leans down and kisses the top of my forehead.

"Morning." He whispers, grinning slightly, his eyes still half closed.

"Mmm...Morning." I reply leaning up to kiss him gently on the lips. _Seriously, am I dreaming?!_

We kiss softly for a few minutes, his arms are still wrapped around my waist, while mine vary between his chest and the back of his head. It feels like we're getting acquainted again or something, but it's definitely nice. I pull away and lay my head on his chest, listening to his slow and steady heartbeat. One of his hands is lazily rubbing my back.

After a few moments, I decide to interrupt the tranquil atmosphere by rejoining reality. "So last night was...?"

Nathan doesn't answer right away, and I almost begin to think he fell back asleep.

"Well...what did you think it was?" He asks, lightly challenging me.

"Uh uh. I asked first."

He's quiet again. "Nathan?"

"I'm still trying to think of the words. Perfect doesn't quite cut it."

_Awwww. Seriously, is he trying to make me melt?!_

The only response to this would be to kiss him, so I willingly oblige. It's more heated than the kiss we just shared minutes ago, not that I mind. Nathan moans into my mouth as I lightly trace my fingers around his abs. This time he pulls away.

"So, you never answered me...what did you think about last night?"

"Amazing. Fantastic. Unbelievable...you weren't too bad yourself, Nate." I stick my tongue out at him and he pinches my side lightly.

"Funny Hales." He's quiet again, which must mean he's becoming pretty serious. "I'm kinda surprised I don't feel so guilty, more so that you don't seem to be either."

I shrug. The truth is, I do feel really guilty. I know Rachel doesn't deserve this, but neither does Nathan.

"What's up Hales? You just got way distant." Nathan asks cautiously.

Finally the perfect opportunity to tell him. Rachel is probably still at Duke, we're alone, obviously he's been just as bad as she has.

I pull away from him. "I have to tell you something." If he was cautious before, he's definitely worried now. "Are you okay?"

I nod. "I'm fine. It's about Rachel." I pause, wondering how on earth he'll react. "She's...cheating on you Nate. Or she's been for awhile now, I'm guessing."

I expected him to get angry, or sad, or shocked. Just some sort of reaction from him would be nice right now. But all he does is nod. "Wow."

"That's it? Wow? That's all you have to say Nathan?" I ask, leaning into him to comfort him. It's definitely not the reaction I thought he'd have, especially that whole spiel about him and us and cheating and everything.

"I guess. I mean, it's not like I haven't done it, twice, with her family. And it's not like I hadn't suspected her of it. I don't know, it just feels weird, now that my suspicions are actually true." I move my hand to caress his cheek, his eyes look blank of almost any emotion. "Plus, we always fought. We probably wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway." He's quiet again. "How long have you known?"

"About a week. Some college kid stayed the night last weekend." As soon as I said the words, I internally slapped myself.

"What?" Nathan catches on immediately, instantly pissed off. "You've known for a whole fucking week?" Yep, that definitely wasn't the right thing to say. "You're supposed to be my best friend Haley, how could hide this from me for a week? God, you knew how fucking guilty I felt about that kiss. Geez, no wonder you didn't feel bad, you fucking knew the situation."

I can feel tears welling up in my eyes, threatening to spill. Nathan looks so incredibly angry, and it sucks to know I caused it. Sorry seems so futile right now, but I can't think of anything else to say.

"We didn't talk for a whole fucking week, Nathan. Don't you think I wanted to tell you every second I could? I was so angry at you for ditching me last weekend, and then saying it was meaningless, after you initiated it! God Nate, you made me feel so bad, I couldn't look at you, let alone tell you this!"

By now a few tears are falling, and I wipe them away furiously. It's not my freaking fault his girlfriend cheated on him! Hell, I'm the one who told him!

"So was this your plan, to tell me after we have sex? To relieve the pain that my girlfriend is a whore, by making it okay since I cheated on her too?"

I slap him. Hard. And for a second he just stares at me in shock.

"Don't you dare. God, how can you think that freaking low of me? Yeah, Nathan, you're right. We're best friends and I should've told you a hell of a lot sooner than I did. But at least I did. God, and stop taking out your anger for her on me! I didn't cheat on you! And it's not like either of us planned for last night to happen, how that hell can you think of me as that manipulative?!"

He's still shocked. And he's looking at me like it's the first time he's seeing me. And now tears are free falling down my face; salty tears cascading down my cheeks and onto the bed. I don't even bother to wipe them away. How can he think of me as some manipulative whore?

"Hales, I'm sor-"

"Don't you fucking dare Nathan Scott." I interrupt him, also pushing his hand away, which presumably was meant to wipe my tears away. God, who would've thought I'd be the one to get more upset after I told him? Especially considering the fact that I was already clued into the situation. I angrily push away the covers on the bed, a bad idea seeing as how the naked evidence of last night only reminds me of what a jackass Nathan is. I move quickly to my dresser, and throw random items of clothing on. I turn around only to have Nathan, clad only in basketball shorts, grab me into a hug.

He's more infuriating than anyone else lately, which is ironic considering he's the guy I care most about. As mad as I am right now, I try to push and punch his chest to let me go, but he only holds on tighter. I'm so mad at him, but eventually I relax into his grip, realizing he's not going to let me go, and cry quietly.

"I can't believe you." I say angrily into his chest.

I hear a muffled "I know" into my hair. A half hour ago we were fine, all lovey-dovey and crap. And now I can barely look at him, yet he's still holding onto me.

_A couple of hours later... _

I wake up, dressed, in my bed, with a pounding headache. Yeah, that tends to happen after I have a meltdown. Nathan is nowhere to be found, which I find both a gift and a curse. There is however, a note on the pillow next to me.

_"Hales,_

_Look...I know you're prolly mad at me still, I'd be too. But if you're up to it, call me later, so we can figure this thing out? I'm sorry." _

_Nathan" _

Bullshit I'll call him later, just because he holds me as I'm crying and sugarcoats an apology doesn't mean he's forgiven.

**Yeah, this is a pretty short one, but I figured I ought to post something soon. Review? **


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